Yugioh!: Six Scions
by Dark-Overlord-of-Death
Summary: At a Duel Academy somewhere in the West, there was a grand battle over the fate of mankind. This is the story of those who participated in that battle. Takes place between GX and 5Ds. Rated T for swearing. I suck at summaries.
1. Prologue

Okay! Hello all! This is the first chapter of my new fic, Scion Rising. I will tell you now, my descriptive skills need work. And I find it hard to write romance. So you might see the better written parts are mostly in the duels and humor scenes.

However constructive criticism is always appreciated! Flaming will not be tolerated if I care enough to check for those.

I might take a cue from other authors and bring in random Yugioh characters for comedic purposes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, GX, or 5Ds. If I did, it wouldn't be nearly as awesome and popular as it is.

So now with that, on with the show!

* * *

Prologue:

Tyler Verano, a healthy young man with pitch-black black hair and sunglasses, was running through the street of his neighborhood. He wore a red t-shirt and black pants.

Now, this would normally be considered just a run for health. Would be, if not for Tyler's frantic cries.

"Awww man! Why did I have to go and have that stupid party! I overslept and I'm gonna to miss the boat!" Tyler cried. The day before, he had received a letter of acceptance to the special Duel Academy Mach. It was like a normal Duel Academy, but they also had lessons on the newest thing to Duel Monsters: Riding Duels.

Sometimes referred to as 'Turbo Duels' or 'Speed Duels', Riding Duels involved riding a motorcycle installed with hologram technology at insane speeds while playing the card game. At first, nobody thought it would catch on. But then something happened. Celebrity duelists began endorsing it.

Suddenly it was the newest thing since sliced bread. Seriously, people went from "It'll never catch on" to "Did you see Zack Mason's recent duel? He left that guy in the dust!"

Zack Mason. The current Riding Duel champ. However, in most circles he was referred to as the 'King'. A pretty pretentious title if you ask Tyler.

Anyway, Duel Academy Mach's Riding Duel classes were optional so you didn't have to take them, but the regular classes were also very intense and the school was one of the top academies around even after only being open for about five years.

And Tyler was getting in. He thought he could try a Riding Duel and see if it was for him. If it wasn't, he still had a safety net in the form of a highly-regarded curriculum.

Of course, all of this was moot if he didn't make it to the scheduled boat on time.

"I left the house so fast, I didn't get to check if I had everything." Tyler muttered. "Let's see……shades? Check. Cards? Check. Disk? Check. Pants? Check. Thank God!" Tyler listed off several things. "Great. Set. Now, I just gotta get there!"

Tyler's legs pounded on the ground as he ran as fast as he could towards the docks. He prayed to whatever random benevolent deity watching him right now for some good fortune and make the boat hold up for a few minutes.

Why was he running? The dock was within running distance. Simple. Also, his mother was out shopping seeing as him and all his friends ate everything edible in the house last night partying.

So now here he was about to miss his chance to enter the Academy, all because he partied all night. "I swear I'll KILL myself if I miss that boat!" he muttered to himself.

By now he could see the port and docks. He prayed his boat was still there.

'If my backpack didn't hold, well EVERYTHING, then I'd ditch it! It's SO heavy!' He thought.

Now he ran into the docks and asked the ticket guy about the boat.

"To Duel Academy Mach? Right over there. You just barely made it." The ticket guy said, a red-headed guy with freckles. Because it's always a red-headed guy with freckles.

"Don't remind me."

He approached the ramp to get on the boat, but was stopped by a big buff security guy. Because it's always a big buff security guy.

"Ticket?" He grumbled in a deep voice.

"Oh yeah, just a sec-" Tyler stopped dead, hand in his pocket. He didn't feel anything. He checked his other pocket. Nothing. Tyler paled.

2 minutes later………

"Where is it!? Where!?" Tyler had basically somehow altered reality and began searching through his things in an obscenely short amount of time. "No no no no!"

He had been in such a rush, he forgot his ticket to get on the boat.

"Sorry kid." Security said. "No ticket, no boat ride." Then he started to feel sorry for him considering the circumstances. "If you got money you could buy another ticket." He offered.

Tyler had forgotten pocket money too. "No money……" he sighed depressingly.

"You knuckle-head!" a voice cried out.

Tyler turned around to see a group of people standing behind him. His friends from the party. "Guys?"

"You dope. You forgot your ticket!" His pal Rash yelled at him. "All that bragging about getting into this pretentious academy and all about to be flushed from a forgotten ticket!"

"Uuuh, I think you mean 'prestigious' Rash." Tyler corrected.

"I know what I said."

'He does make a point. That messed up word oddly made context in that sentence.' Tyler thought, then noticed Rash was handing something to him.

"Take it and go! And when you get back, we'll duel. Hopefully you'll actually get some skills studying at this place." Rash taunted.

"Right. You're on!"

Tyler grabbed the ticket and shoved it into Security's hands. "Thanksgottagobye!" Tyler yelled as he ran past him onto the boat.

"Just wait! I'll be coming! Get ready for Tyler Verano, Duel Academy Mach!"

*Insert Opening Credits Music and cue footage of future events*

* * *

Well that was the prologue. How was it? Not much else to say about this chapter. Please R&R


	2. Chapter 1: Can You Spell Disaster?

Okay! Time for the first official chapter! Let's kick this off by introducing my first guest, Seto Kaiba!

Kaiba: Why the hell am I here?

Dark: For my own personal amusement.

Kaiba: Screw your amusement, I have money!

Dark: Ah, internet memes. Shut up! Now, do the disclaimer like a good rich bastard.

Kaiba: You'll be hearing from my NINJA CARD SKILLS! *throws a card*

Dark: *card flutters harmlessly to the ground* Uh, here in my world, logic is king. Throwing cards in a fight is ill-advised.

Kaiba: Grrr, Dark-Overlord-of-Death does not own Yugioh. He did at one time but lost it in a drunken card game.

Dark: Whiskey is the devil drink I tell ya. Now on with the show!

Chapter 1: Can You Spell Disaster?

So here he was.

Two hours in on a 6 hour boat ride. The wind, the salt, the sea, the brine- Wait, wouldn't sea and salt cover the brine part? What IS the brine anyway? Sounds like a fancy soup. Or something IN a fancy soup. Or something in an inedible soup….

'_No more author guessing what words are.'_ Tyler thought as his head began to hurt.

Whatever. Anyway, here he was on this boat and going to this awesome academy for duelists.

One hitch, it was so _boring_! All these awesome duelists and no one was testing skills? Pumping adrenaline in a match fit for a stadium filled with thousands of people, pitting card for card in an epic showdown of skill- Whoa getting carried away there.

Anyway, Ty had offered a few people to duel but they all declined. He'd made a couple of decent trades with the small amount of spare cards he had with him, but trading was nothing compared to playing.

'Whatever. I'll just partake in some of this free food.' Tyler thought and walked towards the eating-dining room or whatever a boat calls it. He was on a large boat. Like, cruise ship sized.

'_How did I not notice it was still in the port when I was running?' _Tyler thought._ 'Oh yeah, dramatic tension.'_

As he was walking down the deck, he turned into the room-place thing and bumped into someone. Tyler immediately stated "Sorry." As if on a reflex.

Then he saw who he bumped into. She had brown hair, and hazel eyes. She had a slim figure and wore a dark blue shirt under a purple jacket and wore blue jeans. Her face was soft, but it had an air of solidity.

He noticed the duel disk on her arm was white with a purple trim.

'She's …how do I put this? Beautiful? No not good enough…Enrapturing! Maybe…..Enchanting! Got it!' Tyler found himself gazing at her with a dumbstruck look on his face.

(A/N: I am very horrible at character descriptions, like I said, so this may seem seriously downplayed. I apologize.)

No it wasn't love at first sight. It was love at first _glance. _Maybe before that. No joke.

'Whoa…' Tyler stated in his mind.

"Nah, its fine….. Why are you staring at me?" She gave him a wary look.

"Huh? Oh, umm I was stunned by your incredible beauty." Tyler said this with a completely straight face.

She looked at him weird before busting out laughing. "You're funny!" she exclaimed.

"I wasn't trying to be…." Tyler muttered. He was trying to be romantic.

After she had quieted down after a moment, Tyler took a moment to ask her if she'd have lunch with him. "Sure why not?" she replied.

5 minutes later…

Tyler stood dumbstruck. The girl had ordered half the buffet it seemed like and sat down. She was finished five minutes after they had gotten inside. And it took four minutes to sit down.

"So, what was your name again?" He asked, striking up a conversation.

She introduced herself as Violet Nors and in turn, Tyler introduced himself.

"That's a nice name. And now I'm gonna sound stupid for saying this, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume your favorite color is violet?"

"Of course not!" Violet exclaimed. "My favorite color is _obviously_ fuchsia! You boys have no eye for color." She let out an indignant humph and crossed her arms.

Tyler was dumbfounded. Weren't they the same color? Was the youth of today being poisoned by Crayola? Damn you Crayola!

"Uh, I'm sorry?" he guessed at.

Violet suddenly smirked. "You dummy. I'm _kidding_ you! Yes my favorite color is violet. You?"

Tyler sweatdropped and said, "Hehe, right…. Anyway my favorite color is black. Or red. Depends on if I'm in blinding murderous rage or not."

They were both silent for a moment. The silence was deafening. Well, they were silent. Everyone else was talking fairly loudly.

"Okay, bad joke, I'll admit that." Tyler chuckled nervously. "It's just that I get nervous around cute girls."

"You can't mean that." Violet said, turning a bit red.

"Why wouldn't I?" Tyler replied.

"Nothing." Violet simply said before falling silent.

'_Awkward silences equal death! Do something! Turn on that randomly activating Verano Charm! Oh wait, it's random…Dammit!'_ Tyler thought franticly. Then he remembered something he noticed earlier.

"So, what kind of cards do you use?" Tyler asked referring to her Duel Monsters Deck.

She smirked at him. "Do you want to see that badly?" Violet challenged.

'_I really think I'm falling in love.'_ Tyler thought and smirked back. "You are so on."

"You certainly seem more confident when your cards are involved." Violet chided.

"Yeah well, dueling is one of my strong points."

"So let's go."

"Let's."

The two teens walked out onto the main deck. They quickly found an open area in which to duel. "So who goes first?" Violet asked before they began.

"Ladies first, obviously." Tyler smiled.

Violet smiled back and they each stepped back. They each felt anticipation, as if this duel would be exceptional in some way.

"Alright, I won't hold back." Tyler warned.

"Good, because if you did, this would be too easy."

As their duel disks whirred to life and they drew 5 cards, they both shouted out.

"Duel!"

TV: 4000

VN: 4000

"As you said, ladies first." Violet said as she drew. "I'll summon my Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode!" A man in black robes appeared wielding a black rod.

"Now I play the spell card Spell Power Grasp!" Violet said as she placed the card in her disk. "First, I place a Spell Counter on the field. I place it on Skilled Dark Magician!" A flaming orb appeared above the mage. "Then, since I activated a spell this turn, Skilled Dark gets another Spell Counter!" A second flaming orb appeared. "And finally I can add one Spell Power Grasp from my deck to my hand. Unfortunately, I can only play one copy of it per turn, so I'll set one facedown and end." A large virtual card appeared at her feet.

"Interesting cards. My turn, draw!" Tyler said as he did so. He looked at his hand. "I'll summon Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in defense mode!" A medium-sized dragon showed up covered in hard, white scales. It let out a small roar as it curled up its wings into a defensive posture.

"Then, I'll set one card and end my turn." Similar to Violet, a large virtual card appeared on Tyler's side of the field.

"Alright, my turn. Draw!" Violet glanced at it. "I'll summon Magician's Valkyria (1600/1800) in attack mode!" A woman wearing blue armor wielding a large club-like staff appeared. "Now, Magician's Valkyria attack Masked Dragon!" The newly summoned monster raised her club and released a blast of light that destroyed Tyler's dragon.

As the cloud of smoke dissipated, however, there stood a new dragon of black and red on Tyler's field.

"What?"

Tyler smirked. "You see, when my Masked Dragon is destroyed and sent to the grave, I can summon any dragon in my deck of 1500 or lower attack. I summon my Darkblaze Dragon (1200/1000) in defense mode!" The red and black dragon's wings curled up into a defensive posture.

"Good thing I still have another monster that can attack! Go Skilled Dark Magician! Dark Magic Strike!" The black clad magician let loose a blast of power of his own that engulfed Tyler's Darkblaze. Tyler braced himself as a wave of dust flew past him.

"And with that, I'll end my turn." Violet finished.

"My turn. Draw!" Tyler said. "I summon my Blaster-Zone Dragon (1700/1000) in attack mode!" A grey dragon crawling on the ground appeared. It lacked wings and had a long snout. It almost resembled an alligator. "Blaster-Zone Dragon attack Valkyria now! Burn Blast!" The monster let out a wave of fire.

"Facedown, open! Activate Command Silencer! This will negate your attack and let me draw one card!" Violet cried as her facedown card rose up to reveal a totem pole-like thing that released sound waves to counteract Tyler's monster's wave of fire.

"Sorry, but not a chance! Facedown, open! Activate G – Gust Wing!" Tyler cried as his own face down rose up. It released a blast of air that shattered the totem pole. "Now I ditch a card…." Tyler discarded Prime Material Dragon, "….and finish my attack!" The wave of flame engulfed the Valkyria.

TV: 4000

VN: 4000

"Wait, why are my Lifepoints intact?" Violet asked as the dust settled.

"Unfortunately, when Blaster-Zone Dragon attacks, and the monster he battles is an Attack Position monster, it's destroyed immediately regardless of attack strength." Tyler replied. "I'll set one facedown and end my turn."

Violet smirked. "My turn, draw!" She did so. "Next I'll activate my Skilled Dark Magician's special effect! When he has 3 Spell Counters on him, I can release him to Special Summon from my Deck one Dark Magician!" The black robed man vanished in a swirling light and from it emerged the raven-haired magician famous for being used by the original King of Games himself, Yugi Mutou.

"When did he get three counters!" Tyler exclaimed.

"Remember my Command Silencer? It was a spell card. Even though you negated it, my magician still got a counter. And now Dark Magician, attack his Blaster-Zone Dragon now! Dark Magic Attack!" The violet clad girl shouted out.

"Facedown open!" Tyler shouted. "Activate, A – Armored Scales!"

The wave of magical energies engulfed Blaster-Zone Dragon and Tyler along with it.

TV: 3200

VN: 4000

But when the dust settled, Blaster-Zone Dragon was still there. "What? What did your Trap card do?" Violet asked.

"First, I equip it to one Level 4 or lower dragon. And my Blaster-Zone fits that bill. Then, that dragon can't be targeted by other spells or traps and isn't destroyed in battle!" Tyler finished.

"Then I'll set one card facedown and end my turn." Violet said.

"My turn! Draw!" Tyler drew a card, then smirked at it. "I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in attack mode!" A strange creature appeared, it looked like it lacked a head, but instead the two arms protruding from its body were its heads.

"And just so you know, Blaster-Zone Dragon is a Tuner monster!" Tyler yelled.

"What!"

"Now I tune, my Level 4 Blaster-Zone Dragon to my Level 3 Twin-Headed Behemoth!" Blaster-Zone transformed into four green rings that flew into a path. Behemoth floated through that path as it became transparent. It eventually left nothing behind but three glowing white stars.

"_You, who stand upon the weak, step forward now to claim your throne!" _Tyler chanted as the path became a blinding pillar of light. _"Synchro Summon! Flap your wings, Exploder Dragonwing!" _Behind Tyler stood a gray bipedal dragon with what looked like a large hump coming out of its back. (2400/1600)

"Now what?" Violet asked in light of the Synchro monster being weaker than her magician.

"You'll see. Now I activate the spell card F- Fierce Storm!" Tyler played the card in his duel disk. "Now my Dragonwing gains 600 extra attack and you can't activate spells and traps when he attacks! (2400/1600 - 3000/1600)

"Now, Exploder Dragonwing attack Dark Magician now! King Storm!" The Synchro monster let loose a jet of fire towards the raven colored mage. "And now feel the effect of my Dragonwing! See, when my Dragonwing attacks a monster with less attack, it's automatically destroyed and its attack is dealt to your life points as damage!"

The fires completely engulfed the magician, causing a large explosion. The flames from Tyler's attack scorched their way to the brunette as she let out a scream of pain.

TV: 3200

VN: 1500

Some of the guys in the crowd watching cheered as Tyler brought down that magician, while some of the girls glared at the guys. The crowd had taken an innocent duel and made it into a battle of the sexes. Not good.

"I'll set one card and end my turn." Tyler finished. "And now my Dragonwing's attack returns to normal." (3000/1600 - 2400/1600)

"My turn, draw!" Violet said. It wasn't really a good situation. Dark Magician had been beaten so easily by this guy. It was almost as if it was all in his plan. Then Violet remembered Blaster-Zone's own ability. When it attacked, the monster it battled was destroyed immediately, regardless of attack. He had it all planned out. That Synchro monster was merely bonus damage to her. Well, she'll show him!

"Now I play this! I activate Ignition Spell! First I discard a spell card in my hand, like Spell Power Grasp-," Violet ditched the card, "- and now I can destroy one card on the field! I choose Exploder Dragonwing!" The spell card that had risen on Violet's field released a green blast of energy and slammed into the dragon. It shattered instantly.

"Ah!" Tyler cried out.

"Now I play the spell card Overflow! I discard a Level 6 or higher Spellcaster to draw 2 cards!" She discarded another Dark Magician and drew her two new cards. "Next I activate Monster Reborn! I summon back my Dark Magician!" The raven haired mage stood tall again.

"Attack him directly! Dark Magic attack!" The Magician raised his hand and let loose a technicolor blast of energy directly at Tyler.

"Facedown open! Activate, Fanged Spirit!" Tyler's facedown rose up. A phantom that looked like Exploder Dragonwing appeared and took the brunt of the blast. "The turn you destroy a dragon and attack me, I can activate this card, negate the attack and end the Battle Phase!" Tyler cried out.

Violet frowned a bit. This wasn't gonna help. Him stalling. "I'll finish by setting one card facedown and ending my turn."

"My turn, draw!" Tyler drew and nearly cried at his card. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot! Now both of us can draw three extra cards!" Both teens drew their cards.

"Now I play one monster in defense mode, set one card and end my turn." Tyler said as a virtual card appeared facedown on his field.

"My turn, draw!" Violet drew her card. "I summon Magical Exemplar (1700/1400) in attack mode!" A woman in green robes appeared. She gave off an aura of power. "Now I play my own Pot of Greed! So I draw 2 cards! And now my Exemplar gains 2 Spell Counters!" As the two teens drew their cards, two fiery orbs appeared over the green robed woman. "And then I'll release those counters to Special Summon a Spellcaster in my hand or grave with a level equal to or lower than the counters! I summon Frequency Magician (800/400) in attack mode!" A man in blue clothing appeared with strange gloves that emitted sound waves.

"Next I play this! Dark Magician's Tome of Black Magic! This gives my Dark Magician 700 attack points!" Violet said as a black book appeared in Dark Magician's hands. (2500/2100 - 3200/2100)

"Not good." Tyler muttered.

"And Frequency Magician is a Tuner monster, just so you know!" Violet said. "And now I tune my Level 2 Frequency Magician to my Level 4 Magical Exemplar!" The Magician transformed into two green rings similar to those Blaster-Zone Dragon turned into. Exemplar flew into the rings leaving behind four shining white orbs of light.

"_Let loose thy fury as a storm of power! Unleash your wrath of magic!" _Violet chanted as the lights became one large pillar. _"Synchro Summon! Storm the field, Tempest Magician!" _From the light revealed a woman who looked very similar to the Exemplar used to summon it, however this one was wearing blue robes and was wielding a scythe-like weapon.

"For Synchro Summoning her, she gets 1 Spell Counter on her!" A flaming orb appeared above the woman. "And now I activate her special effect! By discarding cards in my hand, I can give her Spell Counters equal to the number discarded! I discard 3 cards!" As she sent her hand to her grave, 3 flaming orbs appeared above her Synchro monster. A total of 4 floated around her head.

"And now for the finishing touch! I activate her effect! By removing all Spell Counters from the field, I can deal you 500 for each one removed!" Violet cried. "Go Tempest Magician! Magic Typhoon!" The flaming orbs gathered in front of the blue robed woman. She spun her scythe weapon above her head. The flaming orbs followed and spun in a circle as well. The vortex created ferociously rocked the boat. The monster had created a thunderstorm of magical energies.

Tyler yelled out in pain as the typhoon hit him and his life points. Hard. "Agh!"

TV: 700

VN: 1500

"Now Dark Magician! Attack his facedown now! Forbidden Black Magic!" The Dark Magician opened up his book and raised his staff. From the staff, came a malicious black light that engulfed Tyler's monster completely.

A voice cried out from amidst the dust. "Go Exploder Dragon!"

From the smoke rushed a small gray dragon, barely bigger than Tyler himself. It was carrying some kind of egg. The dragon collided with Dark Magician and they both exploded, creating even more smoke. The boat was actually shaking quite a bit now.

This also drew the attention of people who weren't already watching the first duel of the boat ride.

When all the chaos had finally died down, all that was left of the field was Tempest Magician and Tyler's facedown. No sign of Dark Magician.

"What! Where did Dark Magician go!" Violet angrily yelled at Tyler.

"Dark Magician attacked my Exploder Dragon. And as his name implies, he has quite the combustible potential. When he's destroyed in battle, I destroy the monster that destroyed it. Namely, the Dark Magician." Tyler explained.

Violet was shocked. Not only had he taken down Dark Magician once, but _twice_! And quite easily at that! Then she smirked. "Well, I guess you just got into even more trouble! When my Tome is sent to the graveyard, I can gain 1000 life points!" A soft, green light enveloped Violet as she closed her eyes.

TV: 700

VN: 2500

"And now, I attack you directly! Finish this Tempest Magician with Blast Lightning!" Violet yelled. Her monster fired off a bolt of lightning straight towards Tyler, about to reduce his life points to zero.

"Facedown open! Activate, Dragon Revenge!" Tyler yelled as his trap card opened up. "Now I can play this since you destroyed a dragon monster in battle this turn! I negate your attack and deal damage to you equal to your monsters attack points! Then your monster is destroyed! However I take damage equal to 100 times the attacking monster's level." Lightning surged from the Trap card directly at the magician.

"I activate my Caster Guard Trap! When this card is activated, I can prevent one of my Spellcaster monsters from being destroyed by a card effect this turn!" Violet shouted as her facedown card opened. A blue barrier deflected the lightning, and then arched around it to deal the damage of Violet's monsters Attack strength. A second barrage of lightning erupted from the trap and struck Tyler, as the backlash of the card hit him.

TV: 100

VN: 300

"Your Tome card saved you the duel. For now." Tyler said.

Violet just said, "I end my turn." This was gonna be close. She had used up her entire hand to deal damage to that guy. And now she was defenseless except for her Magician. And he had 2 cards in his hand after drawing. If he didn't get a decent draw this turn, she had a chance of living.

"My turn, draw!" Tyler said. "I activate the spell N – Nesting Grounds! This lets me Special Summon one Level 4 or lower dragon to my field. Come out, Masked Dragon!" The white and red dragon reappeared on the field, snorting a jet of flame from its nostrils.

"And now I'm finished." Violet said sarcastically. That little monster held no candle to her Magician.

"Not quite. Next I play Card of Demise! This card lets me draw until I have 5 cards in my hand!" Tyler drew until his hand was back at full, which put a sweat on Violet's forehead. Tyler continued. "Now I activate Heartbeat of the Tyrant! By discarding one card in my hand, I Special Summon one Level 7 or higher monster from my grave! Be reborn, Darkblaze Dragon!" The red and black dragon from the beginning of the duel appeared. Somehow, he seemed more menacing. Tyler had discarded Strong Wind Dragon.

"And since he was revived from the grave, his stats are doubled!" Tyler yelled. Darkblaze did seem more powerful for some reason. (1200/1000 - 2400/2000)

"And now I end this! I play the spell card 'FANG Ripper!'!" Tyler yelled as he slammed the card onto his duel disk.

Violet gulped. This was slightly overkill.

"By removing from play in my graveyard F – Fierce Storm, A – Armored Scales, N – Nesting Grounds, and G – Gust Wing, I can activate this card! First I can Special Summon two Level 6 or lower dragons in my graveyard! Arise, Prime Material Dragon and Strong Wind Dragon!" A yellow dragon with several wings appeared, alongside another bipedal dragon that was green.

"When did you get those in your graveyard!" Violet exclaimed.

"Throughout the course of the duel. My cards that needed discarding helped me out on that one. They let me dump these guys into my grave." Tyler smiled. "But my card isn't finished yet! Now I choose one dragon on my field, and he gains half of the combined attack of all the other dragons on my field! Go, dragons unite!" The dragons grouped together with Darkblaze Dragon in the lead. "Lend all of your power to Darkblaze Dragon!"

Energy from the 3 other dragons flowed into Darkblaze. (2400/2000 - 5500/2000) "And now we finish this! Go, Darkblaze Dragon! End this with Phantom Hellfire Explosion!" The black and red dragon unleashed a gigantic wall of flame at Violet.

'_Well, I guess I played my best. But this guy just rocked my world._' Violet thought sadly at her loss as the flames approached.

The explosion rocked the boat so hard, some people were in danger of being thrown off. Violet sank to her knees as the wave of fire washed over her, depleting her life points.

TV: 100

VN: 0

As the dust settled and Tyler's dragons disappeared, Tyler walked over to Violet and held out his hand. "Great game!" He smiled at her.

Violet smiled too and grabbed his hand as he helped her up. "So, wanna go for round 2?" she asked.

"Baby, I could go all day with you." Tyler said, the words slipping out before he could think. Then he suddenly turned bright red as he realized what he said. "I-I'm sorry! It-it wasn't supposed to sound like that!"

Violet just smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what you meant." Before walking away.

'_Wait, what does THAT mean? What did she think my meaning was? Why does the toast always land butter side down? Whatever._' Tyler decided to stop thinking and just follow her.

The two teens had just had an epic duel and now they were gonna relax in the cafeteria/dining room place. Tyler smiled at his victory for a moment before asking, "So Violet?"

"Yeah?" She replied.

"How about you and me….you know, go do something sometime? Like….a date maybe?" Tyler turned a little red. His charm always failed him when he needed it the most.

Violet laughed a cheery laugh. "I'll think about it." She replied.

Tyler cheered mentally. The next year would undoubtedly be the best year of his life.

Card Database:

Blaster-Zone Dragon – FIRE – Lv 4 – Dragon/Tuner – This card cannot be Special Summoned. When this card attacks your opponent's face-up Attack position monster, destroy the opposing monster before damage calculation. (1700/500)

Heartbeat of the Tyrant – Normal Spell – Discard one card in your hand to activate this card. Special Summon one Level 7 or higher monster in your graveyard.

F – Fierce Storm – Normal Spell – One face-up Dragon-type monster on your side of the field gains 600 attack and when it attacks, your opponent cannot activate Spells or Traps until the end of the Damage Step.

A – Armored Scales – Normal Trap – When this card is activated, equip it to one face-up Level 4 or lower Dragon-type monster on the field. The monster is cannot be targeted by your opponents Spells or Traps and is not destroyed in battle.

N – Nesting Grounds – Normal Spell – Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Dragon-type monster in your hand or grave OR you can add any Dragon-type monster from your Deck or graveyard to your hand.

G – Gust Wing – Counter Trap – You can only activate this card while there is a face-up Dragon-type monster on your side of the field. Discard one card. Negate the activation and effect of an opponent's card effect and destroy it. Additionally, if you have 3 or more Dragon-type monsters on your side of the field, you can destroy up to two Spells or Traps on the field.

FANG Ripper! – Normal Spell – You can only activate this card by removing from play one each of 'F – Fierce Storm', 'A – Armored Scales', 'N – Nesting Grounds', and 'G – Gust Wing' in your graveyard. You can Special Summon up to two Level 6 or lower Dragon-type monsters in your graveyard. Then, one Dragon-type monster gains attack equal to half of the combined attack of all other face-up Dragon-type monsters on the field. Dragon-type monsters you control cannot be destroyed this turn and your opponent cannot activate Spells and Traps during the Battle Phase. Remove from play all face up Dragon-type monsters on your side of the field during the End Phase of this turn.

Dragon Revenge – Normal Trap – When your opponent attacks directly after destroying a Dragon-type monster by battle this turn, you can activate this card. Negate the attack and deal the original attack points of the attacking monster as damage to your opponents Lifepoints and end the Battle Phase. Destroy the monster that attacked.

Fanged Spirit – Normal Trap – Activate only when your opponent attacks after destroying a Dragon-type monster. Negate the attack and end the Battle Phase.

Ignition Spell – Normal Spell – Discard one Spell card from your hand. Destroy one monster on your opponent's side of the field.

Overflow – Normal Spell – You can discard one Level 6 or higher Spellcaster to draw two cards OR you can Release one Spellcaster to draw cards equal to its level divided by 3 (rounded down).

Caster Guard – Continuous Trap –You can only activate this card in response to an opponents card effect that would destroy one Spellcaster-type monster on your side of the field. Once per turn, one Spellcaster-type monster you control is not destroyed from a card effect. During your 3rd End Phase after activation, destroy this card.

(A/N: This is actually the third revision of Caster Guard I've come up with since other effects didn't portray what I wanted from a trap like this, and other versions screwed with the outcome of the duel.)

These cards are created by me. These were created either to make the duel more dramatic or to power up a deck theme that hasn't received too much love. Yes I know Dragons got the uber-hax Darkness Metal Dragon, but currently Tyler does not use that card. It may or may not be added to the deck in the future though.

Dark: DONE! This chapter is OVAH! Thank you, thank you. *bows* I couldn't have done it without the help of my amazing writing skills. And Yugioh Wiki. I wouldn't have remembered half the cards without that site.

Kaiba: I will admit, the duel did go very well. Especially every time Tyler used a dragon.

Dark: Yeah, well it is his deck theme. Now let's see, who shall I call in next?

Kaiba: Call in this Jack Atlus guy I've been hearing about. He's apparently as awesome as me.

Dark: That's a great idea! Come on in, The King of Riding Duels Jack Atlus!

Jack: Why am I here? And where's my ramen?

Dark: No ramen yet. Not until you and Kaiba do the Featured Card.

Jack: Fine. Today's cards are Exploder Dragonwing, Darkblaze Dragon, Dark Magician, FANG Ripper, and Tempest Magician.

Kaiba: I think I'll choose Exploder Dragonwing as the Featured Card. It has a very powerful ability and can take down pesky monsters like Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, Marshmallon and Spirit Reaper.

Dark: It's also easily placed into any dragon deck! Being one of the few decent level 7 Synchros doesn't hurt its case either. The others being Black Rose, Dark Strike Fighter, and Power Tool Dragon and a few others.

Jack: And it just so happens that I, JACK ATLUS also use Exploder Dragonwing!

Dark: Yeah yeah. Whatever.

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh!: Six Scions!

Tyler takes his entrance exams! He must take a written exam, followed by a duel against a second year Ra student! How good is this kid? Well, we'll find out next time!

Next chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh!: Six Scions, A Level in Difficulty!

R&R And see you soon!


	3. Chapter 2: A Level in Difficulty

Dark: Well now, welcome to Chapter 2 of Yugioh!: Six Scions! With me today are again, Seto Kaiba and Jack Atlus!

Jack: Hmph.

Kaiba: Whatever.

Dark: Downers… Anyway, time for disclaimer! This chapter, I'm bringing in the one and only, Jun Manjoume!

Manjoume: Manjoume-san da!

Kaiba: Manjoume Thunder? What kind of name is that?

Dark: Well, it made sense in the original Japanese where they use honorifics. The 'san' part was the honorific, but he always put in a 'da' at the end for some reason. So people mistook his name correction for 'Manjoume Thunder'. I guess the English equivalent would be him saying he is 'The Chazz'. But then there wasn't a mistake, just him being arrogant.

Jack: Well, at least they never made a joke about MY name, JACK ATLUS!

Dark: Deflate that ego of yours or we'll never be able to fit in all of the characters. Manjoume-san! Do the disclaimer!

Manjoume: Dark-Overlord-of-Death doesn't own Yugioh in any way. If he did, we wouldn't be the awesome guys we are.

Kaiba and Jack: Damn Straight.

Dark: *sweatdrop* Guys….Anyway, that concludes the introduction of the Yugioh rivals! Because they need some recognition for never beating the main characters!

Jack: Speak for Money Boys over there. I beat Yusei.

Manjoume: And if you count the manga, I beat Judai!

Dark: Well, they _are _correct technically. So Kaiba! How does it feel to have never beaten your rival?

Kaiba: Duelist Kingdom. All I'm gonna say.

Dark: That doesn't count and I will never count it. You guys?

Jack and Manjoume: Nope. Don't count.

Kaiba: WHATEVER! On with the show!

(A/N: There will be GX characters mentioned and appearing. I'm gonna say it's been about 8 or 9 years since the end of GX. I have no idea what the time difference between GX and 5Ds is.)

Chapter 2: A Level in Difficulty

Well, that was fun. The rest of the boat ride was filled with dueling and fun and a whole bunch of other things. And the best part? Tyler had not lost a duel once. These people were good, though. He had a few close calls, but he always pulled through in the end. It seemed like his and Violet's duel was a sort of ice breaker for everyone else.

But now they were here. Duel Academy Mach. One of the greatest Academies in the hemisphere. It was a tall, grey building with three shorter towers surrounding it with the three primary colors, red, blue and yellow. They were standing on the dock in a line, staring at the grand building.

"Wow….." Violet whispered in awe. "I hope I get in the blue dorm."

"Why blue?" Tyler asked. He had never seen or even been to an academy before and any information would help him.

"Are you serious?" The girl asked incredulously. "The Duel Academies are always separated by rank. Ra Yellows are the people with average dueling skills and high test grades, Obelisk Blues are those with extremely exceptional dueling skills, and the Slifer Reds are the weakest duelists of the bunch. A combination of low test scores and weak duel skills put them on the lowest rung of the Duel Academy ladder."

After her explanation, someone who overheard spoke up, "Well, I guess that makes me bound for Blue! I was one of the best duelists on that boat!" Someone was way confident in their abilities. It was a girl with brown hair and wore a green jacket with the sleeves rolled up on her forearms. Tyler remembered her, her name was Micah and she used Ojamas. They were pretty brutal monsters for having no attack power.

"But to be in Blue, you have to have skills AND scores. Just being good won't make you a great duelist." A boy with brown hair shot back. "And that's definitely me!" The boy may have been small, but his monsters weren't a joke. Tyler remembered watching a duel he was in. Really well put together strategies made those Worm monsters of his a deadly force. He recalled that his name was Nick.

"What are you insinuating?" Mica asked.

"Well, I could be saying you don't have what it takes to be in Blue, or I could be saying nothing at all." Nick pushed up his glasses as Micah fumed.

"Hey, hey! Calm down here! We'll ALL be in Blue, I'm sure. Right Violet?" Tyler acted the peacemaker and turned toward the object of his affections. It had been a relatively short time since they had met, but Tyler could feel a connection between them. They both had a strong passion for dueling and put forward all their effort in a game.

And there was just something about her. Tyler couldn't really place it, but he had always followed his gut and didn't question the strong attraction.

"Of course! We're all competent duelists. I'm sure with our skills; we'll be the best duelists here in no time!" Violet said brimming with overconfidence. There she was, already aiming for the top. In the short time Tyler knew her, he could already tell she was someone who put her all in everything she did and didn't stop until the last card was played.

"She's right, you know." Nick said. "We are pretty good. But the people here are all on a different level than us. They are the best of the best. That's why they're here."

"That same argument could be used to say the same of us." Micah responded. "We also go here, therefore by your logic; we are also the best of the best."

"Well, I know one thing. I know that we're going to have a great time here! I'm almost positive of it!" Tyler said with a confident smile of his own.

"Damn straight!" Micah shouted.

The small group laughed at the reassurances. Suddenly, they heard whistle blows. It was coming from a blond woman in business attire. "Gather around all new students!"

All the people who were on the boat gathered in a crude circle around the woman. She looked vaguely familiar to Tyler, but he couldn't place it. The excitement of the other students wasn't lost on the black-haired boy. He could feel the tension in the air.

"New students! We will be going to the main audience hall! Please follow me!" The woman shouted before walking off towards the tall grey building. The large collection of students made a path for her to leave the circle, before following her themselves.

**Inside…**

The students were in a large room filled with seats that pointed towards a large stage in the center. The stage looked like a dueling arena. A big one used for the important duels.

An Asian man walked out. He was about in his mid-40s with aging grey hair and wore a deep crimson outfit. He donned wire-rimmed glasses on his face.

Obviously he was the principle of the school. He began speaking into a microphone he had in his hands. His other hand was hidden behind his back. "I would like to welcome you all to Duel Academy Mach. You all have worked hard for a shot to be in here, and I am proud to see so many people who may be eligible to attend our academy." Murmurs spread through the crowd. Chancellor Yotogi held up his hand and all was silence. "That is right, I said 'may'. You still have one obstacle in your way."

Chancellor Yotogi then explained that each new student would take both a written exam and a have a have a practice match with a selected dueling proctor. The proctor would be a second-year student or a staff member. After that, the results would determine what dorm the student would be in. If either score was too low for the Academy standards, they would be forced to leave.

'Harsh.' Tyler thought. 'Come here after a 6-hour boat ride or plane ride and then have to leave if you didn't make the cut?'

"Now if you will follow Mrs. Yuki here, you will be lead to the exam site. I wish you all the best of luck." Chancellor Yotogi finished.

That was where Tyler knew that woman! Yuki Asuka! He had seen her alongside her husband Yuki Judai at the end of a World Championship Duel between Judai and a man named Marufuji Sho.

It was amazing! A duel between the Elemental Hero Master and the King of Cyber Duelists! Those kinds of duels were what Tyler lived for! He couldn't wait to brag to his friends that one of his teachers was the wife of the great Yuki Judai!

"Tyler, you coming?" a voice asked.

Tyler turned to see Violet, Nick and Micah staring at him, as the crowd of students were walking inside.

"Huh?" he asked slightly spaced. His new friends were looking at him.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" He called out. He ran to catch up with his new comrades in arms.

The students eventually came to a stop in front of a door. Mrs. Yuki turned around and said "This is the testing room. I wish you all good luck." The blonde woman opened the door and led the group of Academy newcomers inside….

**Later…..**

Tyler walked out of the room feeling slightly dizzy. Since when had the game gotten so complex? Spell Speeds? Priority? And what the heck was Ignition? And by the look of a few other peoples' faces, he could tell he wasn't the only one.

"Tyler…." Micah moaned. "Please tell me that was a dream. I dreamt that we had a hard test and failed and went back home." The red-head was half freaking out and half lethargic.

"It was a dream Micah." The dragon duelist assured. "We haven't been kicked out." He gulped. "Yet."

Violet walked up to them and said "C'mon, it wasn't _that_ bad…"

Tyler looked at her like she was crazy. "Violet. I put the answer to one of the questions as lupus. It's NEVER lupus!"

(A/N: _Nobody's _gonna get that reference.)

The two girls just stared at him. He may have had a point since none of the questions had lupus as a choice in the first place. Maybe it was time to worry….

Suddenly a head of brown-hair popped up beside the group. "Hey guys!" Nick greeted cheerfully.

Micah and Tyler let out various moans and grunts while Violet responded with "How do you think you did, Nick?"

"Man that test was a breeze!" The small genius voiced. "I think I totally aced it! What about you all?"

This caused Micah and Tyler to groan even more, while Violet simply said, "It wasn't easy, but I think I did well."

"You guys don't have to show off….." The Ojama user moaned. She quickly shrugged off the funk and said a bit more cheerfully, "At least the next part is actual dueling! I know we'll ace that!"

Now this cheered Tyler up. "Yeah! We'll get through this even if it's through sheer skill alone!"

Tyler and Micah joined together in laughing very loudly as some others stared at the two.

Violet and Nick put their hands in front of their faces and pretended not to know the two weirdoes.

Mrs. Yuki reappeared and said "Students please follow me to the main dueling hall. This will be where the final part of your exam takes place." The students eagerly followed her, they were excited to actually show off their skill in dueling.

Minutes later, they were in an even larger hall then before, but this was filled with many dueling arenas. They had walls around them so no one could view the duels. Each had a number from one to nine. Mrs. Yuki instructed the students to sit down and await their name being called.

The children sat down in a section of the arena that had a table and two people sitting in front of it.

It wasn't long before Tyler heard a familiar name. "Violet Nors! Arena 6!" The man at the table called.

"Guess I'm up!" Violet declared confidently.

Her small group of friends wished her luck as she walked down the stairs into the dueling area.

"Nick Stryder! Arena 4!"

"Alright, time to show them what I'm made of!" Nick declared with a level of confidence on par with Violet's.

"Micah Wilde! Arena 2!"

"Alright! Time to spark up the stage!" The red-head shouted with determination. Everyone was totally geared up for this. Tyler was on the edge of his seat. When would he be able to duel?

As Tyler sat and watched his friends walk towards the arenas, he heard a name he thought he would never hear again. "Sipher Nexus! Arena 9!"

Tyler completely froze. He only snapped out of it when he heard, "Tyler Verano! Arena 5!" He slowly got up and walked towards the arena. He bumped into the person before him. Sipher Nexus.

He was a kid a bit shorter than Tyler, with bright blue hair and eyes. Sipher turned around and smiled at Tyler, the smile you give to someone you totally hate, but want to hide it with a smile. "Hey, Tyler! Good to see you again!" His smile sickened Tyler to no end.

Tyler stood shell-shocked for several moments, before stammering out, "S-Sipher? You go here now?" Tyler was in a suspension of disbelief. Here was a person Tyler thought if he never saw again, it would be too soon.

"Oh yeah." Sipher nodded. "Didn't you see me on the boat?"

Tyler thought he might have caught a glimpse of him, but he had been so focused on dueling Violet, and meeting Violet, and talking to Violet, and those other people that he had completely pushed all that out of his mind. But now that this guy was here and in front of him, taunting him, he couldn't just ignore it.

Tyler snapped out of it and took a serious stance.

"I don't know why you're here, Sipher," Tyler whispered menacingly, "But if you even go near me or my friends, I. Will. End. You. Am I clear?"

"As crystal, my lord." Sipher whispered back, low enough so only Tyler could hear. He flinched at that.

"Never call me that. I don't want to be…_him_." Tyler responded.

Before the two could talk more, a girl with red hair bumped into the two and said, "Move it!"

"Yeah, sorry." Tyler turned back to Sipher after he had let the girl through, but found he had gone on to his duel.

'This….cant be a good sign.' The dragon user thought to himself; as he quickly ran to an arena labeled '5'.

As he walked forward, he saw a guy with forest green hair and eyes. He spoke. "Yo. I'll be your dueling proctor. My name is Allen Brooks, second year Ra Yellow student."

"My name is Tyler Verano." Tyler said, putting on his bravado. He pushed his encounter with Sipher out of his mind. He would deal with that no-good bastard later. "Future first year Obelisk Blue." Tyler smirked.

"So you wanna get in Blue huh? Well, you need some skills AND brains to get in there." Allen said. He was referring to the exam Tyler had taken not a half hour ago.

"Well, I don't know about brains, but my skills make up more than enough for that." Tyler replied as his duel disk snapped into place.

"Well, let's see if those words are true." Allen's own yellow trimmed disk whirred to life. Both teens drew five cards from their decks.

"Duel!" They shouted.

TV: 4000

AB: 4000

"I'll start this off." Allen said as he drew a card. "I'll Set one monster facedown and set one card." Two large virtual cards appeared in front of Allen.

"Turn end."

"I guess age before beauty! My turn, draw!" Tyler drew his sixth card. "I summon Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in attack mode!" Masked Dragon arose in a white light. "I attack your facedown! Go, _Flame Jet_!"

The dragon let loose a blast of flame directly at Allen's monster. Suddenly, a man in white armor wielding a duel blade appeared. The flame blasted around him, but otherwise left no marks.

"Sorry, but my Mystic Swordsman LV4 (1900/1600) has more defense than your dragon does attack." Allen explained.

Tyler scowled as he lost the difference in point levels.

TV: 3800

AB: 4000

"Well, I guess I'll just have to toss these cards out facedown and end my turn." Tyler said as two large virtual cards appeared behind Masked Dragon.

"I guess it's my turn now. Draw!" Allen drew his card. "I think I'll switch my Swordsman into attack mode." Then armored man switched from a defensive posture to a battle-ready one. "And attack your dragon! _Plasma Cutter_!"

The white-clad swordsman leaped towards the dragon on Tyler's field. "Not so fast!" Tyler cried out.

"Facedown, open! Activate Command Silencer!" Tyler's facedown Spell card rose up to reveal a totem pole like object just like the one Violet used when he dueled her. "I negate your attack and get to draw an extra card!" The totem pole let loose sound waves that halted the swordsman's progress.

As Tyler drew a card from his deck, Allen said, "I'll Set a facedown and call it a turn."

"My turn, then! Draw!" Tyler said. "Now I release my Masked Dragon!" Tyler's monster disappeared in a swirl of light. "Now I summon a LV monster of my own! Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 (2300/1600) in attack mode!"

Tyler's dragon was replaced by a metallic bird-like monster. It looked more Winged-Beast than Dragon. But Dragon it was.

"Go Horus LV6! Attack Mystic Swordsman LV4 now! _Black Pyre_!" Tyler yelled out. The metallic dragon let loose a stream of fire towards the swordsman, incinerating it.

TV: 3800

AB: 3600

"You fell right into my trap." Allen said. "I activate my trap, Level Buster!" The facedown card rose up to show the image of Silent Swordsman LV5 being appearing in front of Luster Dragon #2, with Silent Swordsman LV3 behind him, fallen.

"I don't think I want to know but, what does that do?" Tyler asked.

"See, if my LV monster is destroyed by a monster of higher level, I can Special Summon a LV monster with the same name with a level equal to or lower than your monster! So come out, Mystic Swordsman LV6! (2300/1700)" A man in even more elaborate white armor than the last appeared wielding twin energy blades in each hand.

"Well he's nice and all, but guess what? My Horus can level up too!" The metallic bird disappeared in a blinding flash of light. When the light receded, there stood a humongous metal bird-dragon thing. "Arise, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 (3000/1800)!"

Tyler's monster let out a sharp cry at its summoning. "Turn end." Tyler finished.

"Very nice." Allen complimented. "But don't think I didn't see this coming when you summoned out LV6. My turn, draw!" Allen drew another card from his deck. "I equip my swordsman with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" Suddenly, one of the swordsman's swords began to fuse with his arm in a grotesque way. "This equip card grants my monster an extra 800 Attack Points! More than enough to blow away your dragon!"

"Like I would let something like that happen! I activate the monster effect of Horus LV8! When you play a Spell card of any type, I can destroy it! Go _Burning Purging_!" Tyler cried out as Horus released eye beams at the sword. However, the swordsman just blocked the lasers and the sword was still attached to the wielder.

"Hey what gives!" Tyler complained at the sight of his target not destroyed.

Allen chuckled a bit. "Guess you don't do too much homework. Fusion Sword Murasame Blade can't be destroyed by card effects like Horus'! So gain the attack my Swordsman (2300/1700 - 3100/1700)! And attack his Horus LV8 now! _Twin Plasma Cutter_!"

The swordsman leapt towards Tyler's monster, slicing it in four pieces.

TV: 3700

AB: 3600

"Well, you're not the only one who can play Traps when their monster is destroyed! I activate my facedown Scaled Rebirth!" Tyler's trap rose up from its facedown position. "When you destroy a monster in battle, I can Special Summon one Dragon of level 4 or lower from my deck! I summon out Exploder Dragon (1000/0) in attack mode!"

A small, grey dragon appeared carrying what looked like an egg, and sat on Tyler's field.

"Well, I think I'll end my turn here." Allen finished.

"My turn, draw!" Tyler said. "Exploder Dragon, attack his swordsman!_ Kamikaze Rush_!"

"Facedown open. Activate, Command Silencer." Allen calmly said.

"What!"

"That card is a dime a dozen. Besides I'm smarter than that. Someone would never willingly kill their own monster unless they had some trick up their sleeve." Allen explained, and then drew one card.

"I…I end my turn." Tyler said.

Allen smirked, as he said "Well if that's all you got, then I guess you getting into this Academy is out of the question, never mind getting into Blue! My turn!" Allen drew another card. "I activate this Spell! Level Copy!" He placed the card into his duel disk.

"Level Copy! What does that do?"

"First I choose one LV monster on my field. Now I Special Summon a token with his exact ATK, DEF and effect!" Allen said. "Arise, another Mystic Swordsman LV6!"

An exact copy of the swordsman appeared, albeit with a slightly faded color.

Tyler muttered, "Aw crap."

"I attack your Exploder Dragon with my Swordsman Copy! _Twin Plasma Cutter_!" The swordsman token acted on Allen's orders and rushed and sliced the Dragon. Since his opponent was the one attacking, Tyler lost life points.

TV: 2400

AB: 3600

After the damage had been done, and the smoke cleared, the token was gone. "So that's what you were hiding. He's a destroyer monster." Allen said. "Well, now I finish this! Go Mystic Swordsman LV6! _Twin Plasma Cutter_!"

The swordsman lunged to finish off the last of Tyler's life points. If the attack connected, Tyler would lose and be sent back home. All that work for nothing.

'_Like I'd let that happen.'_ He thought. Then he cried out, "Facedown open! Activate, Fanged Spirit!" Tyler's trap card rose up and from it came the phantom of Exploder Dragon who blocked the swordsman's attack. "During the turn you destroy a Dragon monster and attack, I can play this and end the Battle Phase!"

"Hmph. That's a nice card. But you still can't beat my monsters. I'll just set this card and end my turn for right now."

As a virtual card appeared on the field, Tyler drew. "My turn! Draw!"

He looked at his card, then the others in his hand. 'Let's hope this works.' He placed a card on his duel disk. "I summon Blaster-Zone Dragon (1700/500) in Attack mode!" The grey, alligator-like dragon appeared. Always helping Tyler in his time of need.

"Now I attack your Swordsman! _Burn Blast_!" The monster unleashed a jet of flame directly at his sword-wielding opponent.

"I activate Negate Attack!" Allen shouted above the roar of the fire. The trap rose up and created a barrier around the green-haired boy's field. "As you can probably tell, this card negates an attack. It also automatically ends the Battle Phase."

Tyler scowled. "I'll just lay this facedown and end my turn."

"I think it's about time I finished this and sent you home." Allen said as he drew. "I activate Reinforcements of the Army! This allows me to add one Level 4 or lower Warrior from my deck to my hand! I choose Marauding Captain (1200/400)! Which I will summon right now." A man with dirty blond hair, wearing grey armor appeared wielding a long sword and a rapier.

"And with his ability I Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster in my hand! Arise, Mystic Swordsman LV4!" Another white armored man appeared alongside the two other warriors. "And I attack with LV4! _Plasma Cutter_!"

As the warrior lunged at Tyler's dragon you heard "Facedown open!" Then the blow connected, kicking up dust.

TV: 2200

AB: 2600

As the dust settled, Tyler's monster was still sitting there. "What did you play?" Allen simply asked.

"I activated my A – Armored Scales. This stops one of my Level 4 or lower dragons from being destroyed in battle and targeted by Spells and Traps as long as it's equipped to him." Tyler replied. Things weren't so good right now.

"Well, too bad that card doesn't stop damage! LV6 attacks with _Twin Plasma Cutter_!" Allen cried out.

This time the blow was solid and dealt plenty of damage to Tyler.

TV: 800

AB: 2600

"And now I end my turn with this facedown."

'_Last chance Tyler! Go big, or go home!'_

"My turn! Draw!" As Tyler drew his card, he could almost feel everything slowing down with dramatic tension. He looked at his card. "I summon Blizzard Dragon (1800/1000) in Attack mode!"

A blue dragon appeared next to Tyler's monster. It let out a small cry at the summoning. "And now I use his effect! I target one monster on your field! Next turn, he's frozen and can't change Battle Position or attack! _Sheer Cold_!"

Allen knew he would pick his Mystic LV4. It was obvious.

"I pick Mystic LV4!" Tyler shouted, just as Allen predicted. Ice encased the warrior all the way up to his neck.

"And now…I Synchro Summon!" Tyler shouted.

"What?"

"My Blaster-Zone here is a Tuner monster! So now I tune my Level 4 Blaster-Zone Dragon to my Level 4 Blizzard Dragon!" Just like in his earlier duel, Blaster-Zone transformed into four green rings that created a path. Blizzard Dragon flew into the path, becoming four shining white stars. As the pillar of light appeared, Tyler chanted.

"_Surge forth, divine waters! Give birth to an engine of destruction! Synchro Summon! Arise, Dragon of the Water, Mizuchi!"_

As the light of the pillar died down, there stood what almost looked like a bigger Blizzard Dragon, with a few small differences; such as the lack of wings and a slightly more serpentine body.

The Synchro monster let out a roar. (2600/2200)

"And now I attack Marauding Captain! _Water Pulse Jet_!" The large blue dragon unleashed a pressurized stream of water from its mouth directly at the blond swordsman. He didn't even stand a chance.

TV: 800

AB: 1200

"Now it activates my Dragon's Special ability! I can return one card you control to the bottom of the Deck! I pick Mystic Swordsman LV6! _Aqua Vortex_!" Tyler smiled. He had just turned it around with one card. A spinning whirlpool had caught the empowered swordsman and dragged him down under.

"Nice." Allen complimented as he slipped the card into the bottom of his deck.

"I set one card, and then I end my turn."

"My turn." Allen drew a card. "I guess I'll Set this card facedown and end my turn, seeing as my Swordsman is frozen in attack mode." The ice encasing the monster shattered as the Academy newbie began his turn.

Suddenly, as he drew, Tyler felt something. It was a beating in his chest, something other than his heart. It felt foreign, yet familiar. It felt like something was awakening. It felt…_alive._

He had an overwhelming compulsion. It told him to do something. Something that would win him the duel. He was told…..to summon his ace monster.

"I play Spellbook Inside the Pot allowing us both to draw three cards!" Tyler said as he placed the card into his duel disk. Both teens drew. "Now I activate this! N – Nesting Grounds!"

"What is that gonna do?" Allen asked.

"Well, I get to either Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Dragon in my Hand or Grave, or Search my Deck and add a Dragon. But in this case I Special Summon the Wish Dragon (700/100) in my hand!" A small green dragon appeared with three eyes. It made cute little growling noises as it appeared.

"Next I use his effect! By releasing him, I special summon two Wish Tokens (300/300) in attack mode!" The Wish Dragon vanished in a column of light and left behind two even smaller dragons, white in color.

'He's probably summoning a high level monster. No matter. My facedown Level Bomb will finish him.' Allen thought, as he always thought ahead in his duels.

"Now I normal summon my Magna Drago (1400/600) in attack mode!" A red dragon appeared alongside Tyler's three other monsters.

"Now, I'm summoning my ace monster!" Tyler yelled. "I tune my Level 2 Magna Drago to my Level 8 Mizuchi!" Magna Drago transformed into two rings just like those that gave rise to Mizuchi, as the water dragon flew through the rings, leaving behind eight shining stars.

"What! A Level 10 Synchro Summon!" Allen had never seen something like that happen.

Our hero pointed straight up at the sky as he chanted like so many others.

"_Anger and rage, roar forth and destroy all who oppose you! Show them your true might! Synchro Summon! Annihilation incarnate! Trident Dragion!" _(3000/2800)

All nine arenas shown with light all at once. Tyler could feel a strange resonating within him. As if his brothers were right there, giving him power. If Tyler had any brothers, that is. But there was also the compulsion from before, thriving on the energies of his brothers. Tyler had no idea what the hell could be happening.

All he knew was he was gonna win. As the light faded, there stood a giant, red three-headed dragon. It exuded power through his very presence. The beast let out a cry of certain victory.

"Woah." That was all Allen could muster. He may have been good, but this was definitely something new.

Bystanders were in awe. Even though walls prevented them from seeing the duels, they all saw the massive congregation of lights that appeared. It was as if these nine people were special. And if that's not enough foreshadowing, I have no idea what is.

"Now I activate my Trident Dragion's ability!" Tyler shouted. "I destroy two cards on my own field! I'll destroy the two Wish Tokens I summoned!" The two small, white dragons were eaten by two of Trident Dragion's heads.

"You wouldn't do that without a reason." Allen challenged. "What happens now?"

"Oh you'll see! Trident Dragion! Attack his Swordsman with _Hellzone Crasher_!" Tyler roared just as loud as his dragon. The beast unleashed a gigantic flame mixed with lightning of some sort. The swordsman was engulfed completely.

TV: 800

AB: 100

"But I'm not finished! See those cards I destroyed?" Tyler smirked. "They come in right now! Trident Dragion can attack an extra number of times equal to the number of cards I destroyed! I destroyed two! This makes my dragon's attack opportunity total 3! Now my dragon! Attack with Hellzone Crasher!"

"But since you destroyed my LV monster, I can activate Level Bomb! This deals you 1000 points of damage for destroying a LV monster." Allen smirked. "Sorry, but maybe you can try again next year."

"You wish! I'm in this to win this! Facedown, open! Activate, G – Gust Wing!" Tyler yelled. "I ditch a card in my hand to negate that card and destroy it!" The trap card released a gust of wind that shattered the bomb.

"I have one more trap!" Allen shouted. "I activate Level Spirit Medium (1200/1200)! This is a Trap monster! And while you have a monster that's stronger than all the LV monsters in my Graveyard, his attack and defense raises by the strongest of the LV monsters in my Grave! That's Mystic LV6! So his attack is raised by 2300! (1200/1200 - 3500/3500) Beat that!" A man appeared in red druid robes, holding a book. He gained an aura of power as he gained strength.

"Oh I sure will! See I still have one more card in my hand!" Tyler grinned. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Soul Resonance! This lets me send a monster in my deck to the Graveyard and add its attack points to one monster on my field for the duration of the turn!"

"Oh no." Allen mumbled. All Tyler had to do was send a monster stronger than 500 to the grave and it was over.

"Oh yes! I send the Tyrant Dragon in my deck to the grave to raise my Trident Dragion's attack by 2900!" (3000/2800 - 5900/2800)

Allen gulped. "Overkill much?"

"There's no kill like overkill! And my Trident still has two attacks left in him! Not that he needs more than the next one. Go! _Hellzone Spirit Crasher_!" Once again the dragon unlashed the torrent of fire and lightning at Allen that was bigger than the last one. The druid was instantly incinerated.

"Well, I know it doesn't really matter, but Level Spirit Medium takes no battle damage." Allen said as he frowned. So what? His monster still had a whole other attack coming. Directly at him.

"Oh? You want some more? Well here it comes!" The dragon user shouted out. "Trident Dragion, attack him directly and show him what we're made of! Finish this with _Hellzone Spirit Crasher_!"

The torrent of fire and lightning blasted Allen off of his feet and knocked him over. Tyler had gotten into the Academy.

TV: 800

AB: 0

Tyler took a second to look upon his victory. Then he started to grin. Then that grin turned into a smile. Then, that smile turned into a smile that threatened to split his face in half. He was in. He was in! HE was in! Tyler let out a cry of victory.

Tyler walked up to Allen and gave him a helping hand up. It was in his moral code to do that. "That was an awesome duel, Allen! We should really do this again sometime!"

Allen grabbed Tyler's hand and let him help the green haired boy up. Allen sighed. "Crappy proctor decks. You know, they wouldn't let me use my real deck. I told them it would be a good challenge, but they said I was too good to use it."

Tyler sweatdropped. "So wait….You're telling me that you used a deck _weaker _than your real deck?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Excuse me while I cheer and curse all at once." Tyler said. "Yes! I'm in! Crap that deck was strong! Crap that wasn't his best deck! Yes, people here are strong!" Tyler cheered and cursed for a bit, then turned back to Allen. "Hey we might meet up again soon. Never know, I might get in to Ra Yellow."

"I doubt that." Allen said flatly. "You dueled well, but you left yourself defenseless half the time and were only able to pull through thanks to a few lucky draws. If it wasn't for topdecking, you would have lost."

"But Allen isn't that part of the game?" Tyler replied. "This game has to be about 80% luck and 20% skill. It's all in the cards you draw, yes, but there's more to it than that. There's also the way you play the cards. And without a direction to go in, the cards can't really help you."

Allen smirked. "Spoken like a true duelist. Welcome to Duel Academy Mach, Tyler Verano." He held out his hand.

"Thanks." Tyler grabbed his hand. "Hey, maybe you can show me around campus later. I really want to check this place out!"

"Maybe. Try going to the Ra cafeteria at about noon tomorrow. If you get in Ra, you should be fine, but any other dorm will get you stares." Allen warned. "It's not like it's not allowed, just unheard of."

"Alright. Thanks, Allen." The dragon user walked off towards where he would be inducted into the Academy.

"So what do you think buddy?" Allen spoke as Tyler left. "Think this year has a few decent candidates?"

"_I believe so, yes." _A voice spoke._ "Does that Verano boy interest you?"_

"A little. I noticed that as he summoned his Trident Dragion, all the other arenas shone with light." Allen turned to who he was talking to. A person about half his height, but he was wearing blue armor and was transparent. "No amount of coincidence will ever make that happen. Something told them that would happen. I'm curious to find out who dueled here, at what times, and who used what."

"_Don't go overboard master. You know how you can become…obsessive." _The armored boy warned.

"Obsessive? Me? Pfft." Allen waved off the spirit of Dragoon of the Holy Waters LV2.

Tyler walked out and noticed his friends. "Guys!" He ran towards them. "So how did it go?"

"I summoned my ace monster!" Nick shouted. "Worm Zero took that guy out no problem!"

"I used my Ojama King to finish it." Micah stated proudly.

"Lord Arcane Caster helped me win that duel easy." Violet declared.

"Well, my Trident Dragion completely blew my opponent away! He barely stood a chance!" Tyler said.

The four friends shared a laugh.

"Guys." Nick said softly. "We're in."

They all muttered words of agreement. "I want to say something." Nick said.

"What is it?"

"No matter what dorms we end up in, we won't dismiss each other. Got it?"

"What do you mean by that?" Tyler asked.

"Well, Obelisks tend to be snobby towards people in lower dorms. I'm afraid that if you guys did better than me, you'll be in Blue and then ignore me." Nick glanced off to the side.

"Oh come one! Don't worry! We'll be friends for a while! I'm sure that we won't be forced to separate!" Tyler declared. "I give you a 99.99% guarantee!"

"…..And the other .01%?" Micah asked.

"Meh, stuff happens that are beyond human control." Tyler replied. "Now let's go get in those dorms!"

The group agreed.

Card Database:

Level Buster – Normal Trap – Activate only when a LV monster you control is destroyed in battle by a higher level monster. Special Summon one LV monster from your deck with a level equal to or lower than the level of the monster that attacked, ignoring summoning conditions.

Scaled Rebirth – Normal Trap – Activate only when a Dragon-type monster you control was destroyed by battle. Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Dragon–type monster from your deck.

Soul Resonance – Quick-play Spell – When this card is activated, select and activate one of the following effects:

-Send one monster from your Deck to your graveyard. Increase one monster's ATK on your side of the field by an amount equal to the ATK of the sent monster until the End Phase.

-Remove from play one monster in your graveyard. Increase one monster's ATK on your side of the field by an amount equal to the ATK of the removed monster until the End Phase.

Dragon of the Water, Mizuchi – WATER – Lv 8 – Dragon/Synchro/Effect – 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner WATER monster(s) – This card is unaffected by your opponents Spell cards. When this card destroys a monster by battle, you can return 1 card on your opponent's side of the field to the bottom of their Deck. (2600/2200)

Level Spirit Medium – Continuous Trap – When this card is activated, Special Summon this card to a Monster Card Zone on your side of the field as an Effect Monster (Level 5/LIGHT/Spellcaster-type/1200/1200). If one monster on your opponent's side of the field has an ATK that is higher than the ATK of all LV monsters in your graveyard, this card gains ATK equal to the ATK of the LV monster with the highest ATK in your graveyard. Damage to both players from battles involving this card is reduced to 0.

Level Bomb – Normal Trap – Activate only when your opponent destroys a LV monster through battle or by a card effect. Inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

The above cards were created by me, in an attempt to make the duel more exciting, which I hope I did.

Dark: Yay! Another Chapter done! How was it?

Manjoume: Well, that wasn't a bad duel.

Jack: Agreed.

Kaiba: The use of dragons pleased me.

Jack, Manjoume, and Dark: …

Dark: Ooookaaaay. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the second chapter! Third chapter should be up soon!

Kaiba: And by soon he means about a month.

Dark: They don't need to know that!

Manjoume: You write slowly. Admit it.

Dark: Do you guys know how hard it is to write these duels? Every card has to be exact. I count cards, make sure all the effects are right; I make sure things are in order. That's not even counting character interaction, as in who does what, when while saying this to whom.

Jack: Well, that does sound really hard.

Dark: Now that I've diverted your attention, Card of the Month! Featuring Manjoume-san and Jack!

Manjoume: Today's cards are Level Buster, Trident Dragion, Mystic Swordsman LV6, Blaster-Zone Dragon, and Level Spirit Medium.

Jack: You don't give me much choice. I pick Trident Dragion. It's a powerful monster that can attack multiple times. His only downside is you have to sacrifice your own cards, and you have to use a Dragon tuner and Dragon non-Tuner.

Dark: Yup! Trident Dragion is way strong, and even has an OTK! With a triple direct attack, that's 9000 damage!

Kaiba: Dark, what was the damage again?

Dark: Oh please god no…

Kaiba: *pulls out a scouter and crushes it as he says* ITS OVER 9000!

Jack: *turns to look at Kaiba* What, 9000!

Dark: Please, please just stop.

Next time on Yugioh Six Scions! What dorm is Tyler in? Who is this Sipher Nexus? How bad can this author write? Well, you'll just have to find out in the next chapter!

Next chapter: Welcome to the Academy!

Please R&R! I need reviews to live! Besides, constructive criticism makes me a better writer! Better writer = better story = more enjoyment for you! The reader! So REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 3: Welcome to the Academy!

Okay, starting notes: This story takes place in a mostly American setting. I am not good with Japanese names or customs. The Chancellor was Japanese for a specific reason. What that reason is, I can't say. And as for Mrs. Yuki, that is also for a specific reason. So deal with my American setting or leave. Not that you guys read this note or anything.

Dark: Okay! Time for the next installment of Yugioh Six Scions! Still with me are Jun Manjoume-san, Jack Atlus and Seto Kaiba!

Manjoume: So you finally decided to do the chapter.

Dark: Hey it hasn't been that long has it?

Kaiba: I think I got Alzheimer's waiting for you.

Dark: Well it has been almost ten years since GX, and GX is about ten years _after_ the original series, so…

Jack: Wait you just said 5 last chapter.

Dark: Weeeeell, to be honest I didn't really set up the timeline in advance, what with setting up characters and plot and whatnot.

Manjoume: So timeline doesn't even fall under whatnot?

Dark: Not when I don't consider it. I should have posted up revised chapters by this point. Hopefully I got away with this one.

Kaiba: You almost didn't. I wouldn't, had you not already changed the chapters.

Dark: Go me!

Jack: Are we getting paid for this, or what?

Dark: Actually, I don't own Konami or Yugioh, so I can't make money to pay you with.

Manjoume: You just HAD to drink whiskey and get drunk, didn't you?

Dark: Konami made a persuasive argument!

Jack: Kaiba, can you do the disclaimer this time?

Kaiba: No, Dark-Overlord-of-Death said so himself that he didn't own Konami or Yugioh or any of their other products.

All: …

Kaiba: DAMMIT!

Dark: And with that, on with the show!

Chapter 3: Welcome to the Academy!

Tyler was stunned speechless. How was this possible! He was a great duelist! How in the hell was he placed in the Red dorm! Someone was gonna pay! There would be hell to pay for ALL!

….

Wait. Weren't his test scores at the bottom of the class?

This…this wasn't good at all. But he needed to stay positive! He could find a silver lining in this cloud of suck!

As he walked out of the room sporting his brand-new Duel Academy Mach Slifer Red blazer, he took a quick glance at his friends and their new attire. (A/N: Because I'm not good on clothes designs, just imagine them looking just like the ones from GX, but with a flame on the arms, outlined in white and the color of the dorm.) They were all in the main building. It had a room where they were assigned a dorm and given a uniform.

Violet had scored very well, and the results of her duel placed her in the prestigious Obelisk Blue. Right off the bat! She was aiming for the top! (A/N: For the girls, sleeveless vests that come with color-coded gloves that have flames on them, similar in design to the ones on the male blazers.)

Nick scored amazing on the test, highest of almost all the freshman. He did pretty well in his duel. His outcome was a victory. He was set into Ra Yellow.

Micah, like Tyler himself, had scored low on scores and won her duel. She was also placed in Slifer Red.

They were basically separated, right after they promised to stay close. They all stood up from where they were sitting. Micah and Nick looked slightly troubled, while Violet had a straight face on, so Tyler couldn't tell what she was feeling.

"So you got put in Red too?" Micah asked when she saw him.

"Unfortunately."

"Well, you know full well that your dorm has no meaning on your skills, right?" Nick piped up.

They quartet began to walk outside the building, around the people still waiting to get assigned. So far Violet was the only Blue, and Micah and Tyler were the only Reds. In fact, they were the first to get assigned for some reason. It wasn't by alphabet, they'd all won their duels last, and the sorting had no rhyme or reason.

Of course, this went unnoticed by all, including the teens in question.

"Of course. After all, this Slifer Red beat all you guys. Even 'Miss Blue' over there." Tyler said and grinned while pointing at Violet.

"You know that was just a test duel, right? I never brought out my ace monster." Violet challenged.

"I never brought out mine either." Tyler shot back.

They mock-glared at each other for a few moments, then remembered that they had to go to their new dorms to meet their professors.

"We gotta get to our dorms. So we can meet our teachers." Violet mumbled.

"Well, I'll probably be seeing you in class. So…later." Tyler said, slightly reluctantly.

"Yeah, later." Violet said with less reluctance, but it was still there. She turned to go towards Obelisk Blue.

"Alright, we'll see you." Nick said and headed off towards the Ra dorm. Then it was just Tyler and Micah.

"I guess we're off to Red together." Micah mumbled.

"Yep. Let's get going." Tyler replied. The two walked off towards the Red dorm.

The three friends parted ways, sadly. They were torn apart so soon after becoming so close.

**Later…**

"What is this?" Tyler asked in bewilderment.

"I think it's a shack." Micah replied, half-stunned at the sight.

"No, I mean what IS this?" He asked again.

"What do you mean?" She turned towards the black-haired boy.

"I mean, is this supposed to be our dorm?" He exclaimed. He was looking at a simple two story building with a red roof. The color looked like it was a bright yellow at some point, but it had faded over time. Didn't this school only open about ten years ago? Why was this place so run down? At least it was right next to the beach.

The view probably was nice too. But it was still a shack.

"Why yes it is. And I'm proud that it is _my_ dorm." A voice behind both said.

The two teens turned around and saw a man with olive colored skin and slick, black hair in a ponytail. He was about four inches taller than Tyler. "Who are you?" Tyler asked.

The man was wearing a casual red t-shirt and black jeans. Everything about this guy screamed 'lax'.

"My name is Jacques Ylliander." He introduced with a flourish of the hand, palm up in front of Micah. "However, you may call me Jack."

"Well, 'Jack'." Tyler began, wary of this guy. "Who are you supposed to be exactly? And what did you mean by 'my dorm'?"

"If you can't figure that out by yourself, then you must belong in my dorm." He slickly replied.

"So that means you're the- Hey, wait a sec!" Tyler yelled. Not even two minutes had passed and the teacher was ribbing him.

The man and Micah laughed at Tyler's expense for a moment, before the man started speaking again. "Well, you two are my first newcomers. So I will be showing you around the dorm."

Tyler spoke up. "What else could there be other than that two story shack?"

"If you come with me, you just might find out." Jack replied smoothly.

"Whatever."

The two new Slifers followed the man through the dorm shack, into the first room on the first floor. "This is probably the only room that is different from the others. Down here we have the kitchen. Did you know that this dorm has the best fried shrimp on the island?"

"No. Wow." Micah said with genuine awe in her voice.

"I don't really like fried shrimp. Or shrimp in general. It just doesn't suit my tastes." Tyler replied.

"Oh you'll like this fried shrimp. Everyone does."

"But why fried shrimp?" Tyler asked.

"Well, our sister school in Japan, Duel Academia, had a Slifer dorm with fried shrimp to die for. And Yuki Judai went to that Academia. We make delicious fried shrimp as homage to such an amazing duelist." Jack finished as if he had told a tale for the ages.

"Yuki Judai? You mean one of the legendary duelists?" Micah exclaimed. "Wow. Now I'm actually excited to be in this dorm!"

"Well I'll show you to your rooms now." Jack said and motioned with his hand. The two Slifers followed him as he made his way up to the second floor to the room all the way to the left of the building. "This is it. I hope you don't mind rats." He gave them a smirk as they paled.

"R-rats? What? Why would there be rats here?" Tyler asked.

"Well, they like damp, dark places. These rooms are pretty close to the sewers rats are usually found in." Jack replied with a shrug. "All the good money is put towards the Blue dorms. We Slifers get nothing but the scraps of the funds."

"That's pretty harsh man." Micah muttered.

"You're telling me." Jack turned off to the side.

"Well, I hope we aren't here for too long." Tyler said. "Being in Slifer is gonna kill my reputation."

"I'd worry about that tomorrow." Jack said. "Today you can all relax. Tonight is the welcoming dinner though, so don't miss it."

"Yeah, gotcha." Tyler said as he and Micah turned to enter the dorm. The room was fairly small, with a short dresser in one corner right next to a window, with a bunk bed in the corner. The beds were directly across from an old television that Micah severely doubted could even show color pictures.

"I call dibs on top bunk!" Tyler immediately shouted as he tossed his backpack on the floor and began to climb the bed.

"Hey no fair! I wanted that one!" Micah exclaimed.

"I called dibs! Too bad for you!" Tyler yelled as he flopped onto the bed. He sighed and closed his eyes for a few moments. Soon, he was fast asleep, the events of the day finally catching up to him.

Tyler slowly awoke. His eyes opened sluggishly and he was trying to focus in the light of the room. Oh man. He had taken a nap. He hated those; they always messed with his biological rhythm. He slept and ate at certain times and his body was used to that. Things like naps always screwed that up.

Well, he was a lot less tired, so he guessed a nap wasn't too evil.

The teen heard a noise coming from the room. He assumed it was Micah watching television on the rickety old machine.

He sat up slowly as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Hey Micah, keep it down will you? I was trying to sleep."

"Micah?" A strange voice asked. It sounded masculine. "You mean that red-head?"

The boy leaned down over the side of the railing to see who was talking. Tyler then got a clear look of the guy sprawled out on the bottom bed.

"What the-?" Tyler was surprised. "Who are you? Where's Micah?"

"Me? I'm your new roomie. Name's Adam Michaels." He had earthy brown hair, and wore the same kind of red blazer Tyler donned. He sat up.

"Wait, I thought Jack gave the dorm to me and Micah?"

"Well, he thought a young man and woman staying in the same dorm room would be a little…..what's the word?" The boy genuinely paused in thought.

"Scandalous?" Tyler offered.

"Yes! That! So he decided to throw me into the mix. Sorry about waking you up, by the way." The boy rubbed the back of his head. "That Micah girl said she was gonna take a walk around the island."

"No harm, no foul." Tyler said. "So what's on?" He hopped down next to the guy and began to relax.

"Not much." Adam sighed. "But I did find Animal Planet. We could watch the monkeys?"

"You were just watching 'Dude, Where's My Car' weren't you?" Tyler deadpanned.

"That obvious?"

"Oh yeah. Now put it back on. I don't want to miss the part where they get caught by that crazy ostrich guy." Tyler said.

"Aren't they Emus?"

"Does it really make a difference?"

"Touché."

The two guys just decided to watch the movie, laughing together at the crazy antics of Ashton Kutcher and Sean William Scott. The reception wasn't too good, but the boys took what they got seeing as the T.V. looked as if it were about to break down.

Later, after the movie had ended, Adam asked Tyler for a duel.

"Nah." He replied. "I'm too tired right now. Besides, we'll have all year for dueling. Right now we should be glad to sit back and relax for a while. Before the teachers pile homework on us, that is."

"True that." Adam sighed. Now what? They were at Duel Academy Mach…..and they were too tired to actually duel. What happens at a Duel Academy when you aren't dueling?

Meaningful conversation? Pfft.

So there they sat watching something on T.V. that they really couldn't care less about. Soon, the door opened. "Hey Adam, I'm back!" A voice called. Micah.

"Hey Micah." Tyler called.

The red-head walked up to the two of them sitting on the couch watching something no one cared about. "So you woke up, Tyler? I see you met Adam." Micah said.

But Tyler noticed the way she said 'Adam'. Almost dreamy. Oh man. This was too good! Tyler may not be book smart, but he wasn't a total idiot.

"Yeah I met Adam." Tyler replied. "We were watching 'Dude, Where's My Car'. Then it ended and we got bored."

"I'm surprised I didn't come back and find you two dueling."

"Well, I'm a little tired, even after that nap." Tyler said. "Besides, what time is it?"

"A little past 7 o'clock." Micah replied. "The welcoming dinner is starting in half an hour. If you weren't awake when I got back I would have woken you up myself." Micah gave a small, mischievous grin at that.

Tyler didn't like the way she said that. He gulped. "Well, I'm awake now so no need to do that."

"Unfortunately..." She sighed.

Tyler vowed to never oversleep while Micah was on watch. "Well, we should start getting ready for that dinner." Adam offered.

"Yeah. Where is it by the way?" Tyler asked.

"Well, each dorm is apparently just eating with their teacher in their cafeteria. Nothing really fancy." Micah looked off to the side. "Especially in a place like this."

"I wouldn't bad mouth this place." Adam spoke up. "We're gonna be stuck here until we advance to a new dorm."

"He's right." Tyler reluctantly agreed. "What's the saying? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?"

Micah sighed. "Whatever." She knew they were right though.

The teens made sure what things they needed, they had. Then as the clock struck 7:30 they left for the Slifer cafeteria. Inside were a small group of people. A few of them were first-years Tyler had dueled on the boat, and he could only assume the rest were second-years and seniors. The trio made their way to a table. The room was just big enough to accommodate all the Slifers.

A few moments later Jack walked out. "Hello everyone. I know that I already introduced myself to all of you, but this is a formal occasion. Welcome newcomers to Duel Academy Mach's Slifer Red dorm. And for those who were here last year, welcome back." He flashed a smile. "As you know, you didn't score so well on your entrance exams, or maybe your dueling was a bit off. Either way, I will help you become a better duelist so that you may be able to rise up and join some of the other dorms."

Jack continued about inspirational stories, including the one about Yuki Judai being the top duelist at duel Academia, even though he was a Slifer, just like them. After that, he allowed the students to eat. The food? Fried shrimp obviously.

The group laughed and joked around and generally had fun. Tyler even admitted that he liked the fried shrimp! A latecomer arrived and sat at the same table as Tyler, Adam and Micah. He said his name was Marshall Justice. He had very dark skin and very short, black hair.

"So Marshall, why are you in Red?" Adam asked. "Grades or skills?"

"Grades obviously." He replied. He gave off an aura of seriousness and rudeness. "I could probably take all of these guys on at once and still come out on top! With full life points!"

"Well aren't you arrogant?" Jack said. He had seemingly ninja'd right up to their table without any of them noticing!

"Whoa!" The table yelled, even Marshall. Tyler immediately thought _'What is this guy, a ninja!'_

"Well, I have a right to be arrogant!" He shouted, ignoring the fact that he called himself arrogant. "I won my duel without taking any damage!"

"Well, that may be so, but if you can't always think with your cards. You have to use your head too. That's why you're in here. That's why you are all in here. To learn the skills needed to become great duelists." Jack finished imparting upon his words of wisdom.

"You're crazy! All I need is my deck! My cards can tell me what to do from there!"

"Oh? Would you like to duel then?" Jack challenged. "I'm sure you speaking to your cards would have no trouble against an old man talking foolishness." Jack grinned.

'_Old? Like hell. He's got to be in his late 20s TOPS!'_ Tyler thought. _'But he does have a point. I haven't been thinking about my strategies. I've just let my cards flow to victory.'_ It was at that moment Tyler realized the flaws in his dueling style that Allen was talking about.

He was relying on his deck to make him win! It wasn't supposed to be that way! He was supposed to guide his deck to victory!

This made Tyler mull over his dueling style and the things he needed to work on. _'If I can just learn to better use my cards, then who knows how good I'll get! Even Sipher wouldn't be able to beat me when I'm not….'_ Tyler's thoughts trailed off.

"Tyler!" Micah yelled.

"Huh?" He had been shaken out of his epiphany. But the message still resounded clear: Use his head more than his cards.

"C'mon! Professor Jack is gonna duel Marshall!" Micah urged. The entirety of Slifer Red walked outside to witness this challenge. Didn't this Marshall guy know what he was doing? Challenging a teacher?

"This should be interesting." Tyler murmured.

"You ready for a beat down Jack?" Marshall yelled as his duel disk snapped into place.

Jack simply activated his own duel disk.

"Duel!" They both shouted.

Minutes later…..

Marshall looked flabbergasted. Every move he made had been easily countered by this guy. Jack had easily wiped out his life points in one turn, when Marshall had no defense.

Jack walked up to him. "You see Marshall? You have to strategize, not go in guns blazing." He turned to all the others. "That doesn't just go for Marshall. That goes for everyone here."

Marshall just brushed him off. "Whatever old man. You just got lucky! If I had drawn my Fabled Raven I coulda summoned my ace!"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." Jack said seriously. "If you wait for the right cards every time, you won't always win!"

"Whatever." Marshall mumbled and walked back into the cafeteria.

"Well, now that that's settled, I say we continue our evening of fun!" Jack smiled at the group. Everyone cheered in agreement. It was almost as if the sheer charisma from this man stopped all these kids from remembering that they were put on the lowest rung of the DAM ladder.

The group laughed and told jokes and shared times of fun duels. A great time was had by all. It was as if someone just poured a whole bucket of happy on the party.

Then came the next morning. Tyler, Micah and Adam all woke up groggily. They had classes they needed to get to.

"Stupid school… stupid party all night… stupid waking up at 7 in the morning ….."Adam mumbled as he walked to the bathroom to get ready. It was surprising seeing him this way to both Tyler and Micah. He was usually such a nice guy. Now here he was bad-mouthing a time of day!

"So…..we have our dorm class first, we get our schedules for the year, and then they let us loose?" Micah asked.

"I guess." The black haired teen replied. "That's how it sounded when Jack said it." Jack had already become a big influence on the kids. In the short time they knew him, he had grown on them. He was wise for someone relatively young.

"Well, we'll just fond out when we get there." Micah sighed.

"Alright! I'm ready!" Adam declared as he came out of the bathroom. Suddenly it was as if the morning-hater was totally gone and Adam was acting like his old self.

"Finally!" Micah exclaimed. "You took almost twenty minutes to get up! We might be late!"

"Hehe, sorry." Adam rubbed the back of his head. He had a habit of doing that when he apologized.

Micah turned a bit red. "Well, as long as we aren't late it isn't your fault."

Tyler chuckled a bit. And Jack had a slight issue when it was just him and Micah. Now Micah had a crush on Adam!

"So we ready to go lovebirds?" Tyler smoothly asked as he walked out the front door.

"H-hey!" Micah yelled after him. "What do you mean by that!" Her face was beet red. She ran after him, but he was long gone.

Adam was slightly red and just mumbled, "Idiot." And followed Tyler and Micah.

**A few minutes later…**

Inside the Slifer Red classroom, Tyler, Adam and Micah took their seats. The room had an area up front where the teacher presumably stood during class, and was faced by a row of seats with each row higher up than the last. Almost like bleachers.

After the bell sounded for class to begin, everyone from the Slifer dinner was together in the room. Jack immediately took the stage.

"Hello again everyone. While this may not be an occasion to have fun, that doesn't mean we can't take this seriously." Jack said, his voice filling the room. "I'm going to give you a big responsibility. The DAM PDA." He pulled out a device. It looked like a grey handheld gaming device. "Everyone gets one. It can be used to send and receive messages, call people, look up stats on cards and more." He went on.

"I guess you could say it's almost like your own Pokédex." He joked. Not many laughed. He cleared his throat and took it in stride. "Anyway, this is for you to own. We will not be replacing it for free. A new one costs about $90. So don't lose this one."

Jack went on to explain that each one had a unique code in it, and could be customized to display a username. As soon as each person got one, the modifying begun.

As with all teens of the modern generation, any technology they could get their hands on was instantly used to message others from far away.

Tyler chose the username UnderDragon, a pun on underdog, Micah chose Ojama_Babe, for obvious reasons, and Adam took the name Natur-Boi. He said it was based on his deck.

Jack then spoke up. "Well, now that everyone is familiar on how their PDA works, I will now be handing out schedules." And with that, Jack called people up in alphabetical order to receive their papers.

Micah got hers right after Tyler. "So we have to same first two classes, but then our third is way different, and our fourth class is back here." She observed.

"And none with me, except the last class." Adam added solemnly.

"Aw cheer up! Look at it this way; you get to see Jack every morning first! He's probably an easy teacher!" Micah cheered.

"Yeah that's true. And at least you guys aren't all alone in the morning." Adam replied.

"Yup. And we have the Ra teacher first. It's Mrs. Yuki!" Tyler exclaimed.

"Oh wow! I can't believe I'm gonna meet someone famous!" Micah squealed.

"I wonder if she would introduce her students to her husband." Tyler said thoughtfully.

The teens talked about it for a few minutes before a bell rang, signaling the students to transition classes.

In the classroom Tyler and Micah arrived at, they saw a few familiar faces. "Nick!" Tyler called out. "Hey man!"

"Tyler! Micah!" The small boy exclaimed. "Hey!"

"So how's Ra Yellow?" Tyler asked. He had to know.

"Well, it's pretty cool. We have a pretty big place, and it even has its own library! I guess I shouldn't be surprised in the dorm that's basically filled with the smart people."

"Red is alright. The teacher is awesome!" Micah gushed. "He's cool and smart and he's even a great duelist! He beat this one person without taking damage once!"

"Really? What happened?"

"Oh this guy got pissy that he didn't get into Blue so he threw a hissy fit and Jack cleaned up his act by mopping up the floor with his cards." Tyler responded. "Speaking of which, he was even LESS happy after Jack cleaned his clock!"

"You know you can stop the cleaning metaphors now right?" Nick suggested.

"Right. Your point?" Tyler smiled widely.

Nick just facepalmed. "Well, how is everything else?" he asked.

"Well the dorm isn't SO bad…if you don't mind dark, damp rodent-infested places." Micah shrugged nonchalantly even though underneath she was pissed beyond all human reason.

"Ouch, that's gotta suck." Nick replied. "But I bet you guys will be promoted to Ra Yellow in no time!"

"Probably. Oh man, class is starting! We better get inside!" Tyler said.

The class went by easily. Mrs. Yuki introduced herself as not only the Head of Ra dorm, but also as the academy's Guidance Counselor. For students who were having a hard time in class. She spoke very good English. It must have come with traveling all over the place and having a famous husband.

"I would like to include that my door is always open for those who would like help." She added with a shining smile.

Their next class was Jack's class. Every student had one Dorm associated teacher once a day for 90 minutes, and then went to their dorm teacher last for another 60 minutes. It was actually fairly lax. And Nick was in there too! Lucky deal. After the second class, there was a small break for lunch.

Jack's class went easy as he explained that the main goal of his class was to help students better understand the basic fundamentals of the game.

Soon the bell rang for lunch break. It was about noon. 'Oh yeah, I was gonna meet Allen at the Ra cafeteria.' Tyler thought. He turned towards his glassed friend.

"Hey Nick."

"Yeah?"

"Could you show me where the Ra cafeteria is?" Tyler asked. "I said I'd meet someone there today."

"Who is it? It can't be Violet, she's in Blue." Nick responded.

"My dueling proctor, Allen Brooks. He said he'd show me the sights and stuff."

"Allen Brooks!" Nick exclaimed. "You mean the top student of Ra dorm and part of the school Disciplinary Committee!"

"Are there any other Allen Brooks in this school?"

"Uh, I don't think so." Nick replied.

"Then that's who I mean."

Nick stammered out things like 'Guy is famous!' and 'Why talk to you!'

"I'm not sure. I just kinda asked and he kinda said sure." Tyler said. "It's not really that big a deal. In fact I'm pretty sure I can get him to let Micah and you tag along."

"Really? Because you know I haven't had a chance to check out the island either."

"Sure." Tyler turned to the red-head who was just staring off at the wall.

"Micah, wanna come with? Might be fun."

"Sure. Not like I have anything better to do with my lunch."

"Alright then." Tyler smiled. "Off to Ra Yellow!"

**Not too long later…**

After Tyler and his friends had grabbed their duel disks, they set off to the Ra dorm.

"Huh. So this is what Ra dorm looks like." Tyler said. As they walked, he realized how little of the island he had seen at first. Even his walk to Slifer dorm had done the wildlife of the island justice. Even though there was what some would call a village built on the island, the wildlife was marginally under-effected by the presence of humans.

The forests were filled with trees, the plants were full of life, and even a few forest critters passed in front of the group, as if people walking by were a natural occurrence.

"Wow." Tyler mumbled as they were walking earlier, "This island is amazing!"

"Yeah it is." Micah whispered in awe.

"Yup. If you just follow me, I'll take you to where the cafeteria is." Nick responded.

"Gotcha." Micah responded.

The three walked around until Tyler spotted a familiar head of forest green hair. He was talking to someone that Tyler couldn't see, but he noticed they were shorter and had brown hair.

"Hey Allen!" Tyler called out. The older teen turned around to answer the call, when Tyler, Micah and Nick saw who Allen was talking to.

"Violet!" Nick and Micah shouted. Tyler was surprised a bit, but far from a reaction like his other friends.

"And Violet too? What's goin on?" Tyler smiled at both.

"So you know this knuckle-head and his band of merry duelists?" Allen asked Violet.

'_Knuckle-head?'_ Tyler sweatdropped.

"Yeah! These guys were who I was telling you about Al." Violet answered. "Tyler is the one who beat me. The _only _one I might add. Micah is the red-head, and the small one is Nick."

"Hey!" Nick shouted, but they ignored him.

"Well it's a small world after all." Allen grinned. "Tyler's one of the people I faced before he could enter. He only barely won."

"Barely my ass! My Trident Dragion wiped you out easy! Everything you did I overcame." Tyler said.

"Only because you had the cards you had. What if my card was something else?" Allen challenged.

Tyler flinched. This was exactly what Jack was talking about last night. He had to start using his head more and his cards less.

"Okay, okay. I'll admit you had me if not for my lucky draws. But that's all in the past! What I wanna know is why Violet is here?" Tyler responded.

"Allen and I are old friends." Violet answered. "He's the person who first got me into dueling!" The way she spoke so highly of Allen made Tyler feel a bit annoyed.

"All I did was show you the game. Not a big deal really. Any ability you have is because you earned it yourself." Allen continued talking as Tyler's annoyance went unnoticed.

The small group of five chatted for a minute before Allen said, "Well, lunch break is gonna be over soon. I better get to showing you the sights."

"Wait, how are you gonna show us the sights in less than 20 minutes?" Tyler asked.

"Come with me real quick." Allen said.

The entered the Ra dorm and, apart from a few strange looks at the Reds and the looks of awe at the Blue, the inside of Ra Yellow was fairly nice. Kind of like a middle-class hotel.

"So this is the inside of yellow." Micah commented. "Gotta say its better than most of Slifer dorm."

"Most of?" Nick asked. "I saw Slifer dorm. That place is a shack!"

"Like I said Nick, you'll see." Tyler said.

"So we're going to your room, Al?" Violet asked as they ascended a flight of stairs.

"Yeah. I'm gonna show you guys a virtual tour of the island." The green haired teen replied with a smile. "I got a link to the Satellite that's part of our school surveillance system."

"Why does a teen have a link to the academy's surveillance system?" Micah asked.

"Well, I'm part of the Academy Disciplinary Committee." Allen explained. "When there's trouble, I get contacted, check the shortest route their and do what I'm hired to do. And one time I actually saw a problem begin while I was testing the connection."

Tyler was actually impressed. "Wow, that's pretty cool man. Already barely 24 hours in and we've got connections. Not bad, eh guys?"

Allen laughed. "Yeah, but don't come to me when you're in trouble. I have to keep an unbiased viewpoint towards all students. At least when it comes to trouble."

Right then, they arrived at a door that Allen stopped at. "This is my room. Now I'm just showing you guys for today. This doesn't mean you can come up here and annoy me whenever you feel like it. If you really need me I'll give you my PDA ID."

"What is it?" Violet asked.

"RPG_Pro." He replied simply. The others, excluding Violet, stared at him oddly.

"I shoulda known it would be something like that." Violet sighed.

"You're kidding right?" Nick said.

"Well, what's your then? Can't be much better."

"Mine's uhh….Larva_Cross." He mumbled.

"Larva? As in Worm Larva?" Tyler asked.

The small boy nodded timidly.

"Al's been an RPG freak since birth." Violet explained. "He's done everything from the Last Dream games, to the 'Stories from' series, Stoneguy, and even Time Spark." She listed off several famous game titles.

"Wow, that's cool. A gamer AND a duelist." Micah said.

"You guys coming in or what?" Allen called form in his room. During the discussion he had slipped inside.

"Oh!" Violet said. "Yeah we're coming."

The reunited group of friends entered the second-year's dorm room. It wasn't anything special really. It had two beds, one for Allen the other for his roomie, not too many posters on the wall, just one that had Seto Kaiba on it and another with Mutou Yugi.

And a desk with a computer on it. "Right here." Allen directed. "I'll show you the whole island in 10 minutes tops."

"Alright." Tyler said. "Well, since we've all seen the Red Dorm, we can skip that."

"I haven't seen it." Violet replied.

"Oh. Well then I guess we'll start there." Tyler said immediately. Allen rolled his eyes a bit.

"Alright." Allen said as he began typing into the computer. The first image was of the shack by the beach. A few people skipping class were seen there.

"It's the beginning of the year!" Tyler exclaimed. "How can people skip!"

Allen sighed. "I know them. They're a group of people who lost hope for themselves. They won't even accept help from Mrs. Yuki. They just gave up on even trying passing."

Tyler was fuming. Who the hell were these people? They get into this academy, and then expect to be great and when they aren't they just give up! Where do they get off!

"Well, the dorm may not look great, but I bet the view is nice." Violet said, trying to brighten the mood.

"The view? Oh it was so beautiful at night!" Micah gushed. "The stars reflected on the water so amazingly, and me and Ad-." She stopped short.

"Me and Ad?" Violet asked, curiously.

Tyler immediately grinned. "So that's why Adam was so tired this morning." His mischievous grin told so many tales.

"So how far did you too go? Oh man, you've only known him for a day!" Tyler kept talking. "Adam shoulda told me, the lucky bastard! And Jack was worried that WE'D do something!" Tyler was cut short as a very red Micah slugged his arm.

"Idiot! It totally wasn't like that!" Micah yelled a bit too loudly. "We were just talking!"

"Oh come on. I'm just poking fun that my new friends are in _love_." Tyler said, stressing 'love'.

"What are you, a five-year-old girl?" Allen cut in. "Grow up."

"Yeah, yeah. Next scene." Tyler said waving off the insult.

"Well, this is the Ra dorm outside so I'll just skip to Blue." Allen said as the deep yellow building popped up. The image was replaced by a Giant blue mansion.

"This is the Obelisk Boy dorms. That's right." Allen interjected before anyone could get in a word. "Obelisk separates the Boys and the Girls. The only reason for that is because of rich little brats having their parents fund the school."

The group gasped. "Are you saying the school accepts bribes!" Nick exclaimed.

"Huh? No nothing as serious as that. What I'm saying is the parents give the school 'donations'. If the school happens to keep their under par children in Blue dorm, well, it's not the school's fault is it?" Allen said with an underlying tone of seriousness. "And don't think it's something you can fix with nothing but inspirational speeches and sheer willpower. This isn't some anime where everything is made alright just because you wish for it hard enough."

The group fell silent. The only thing you could hear was the tapping of Allen's fingers on the keyboard, and a faint sound of a lot of people talking.

The next image was a similarly luxurious mansion. "Obelisk Girls dorms." Violet stated.

"Yeah. As you can see, Obelisk is way more decked out than the other dorms. For obvious reasons." Allen said. "Don't get me wrong, not all Blues are rich brats and assholes, but the exceptions don't really change the rule.

"Moving on." Tyler said assertively. He wasn't in the mood for looking at these people who think they could get by on money alone.

The next image was a view of a forest. The trees looked healthy and lively. "One of the dozens of forests on the island." Allen explained. "We'll be seeing a lot of those for the next few images." And it was true. The next few images were devoted solely to the forest and wildlife.

Eventually, the image of what looked like a stadium showed appeared. "What's that?" Nick asked.

"That," Allen said, "Is our school's pride and joy. The Mach Track. It's where students learn how to Riding Duel. You guys won't be seeing that for a while. It's only for second-years and up. And it's an extracurricular activity. So it's not a real class, it's after school."

"Do you take those lessons Al?" Violet asked.

"Hell no!" Allen said. "Do I look like I have a death wish? Those things go at speeds of 200 mph and up! A single crash and I'm a goner."

"Just out of curiosity, how many people have been hurt so far?" Tyler asked.

"None." Allen replied. "But I'm still not taking any chances. And it just doesn't fit my style. Playing card games on a motorbike? No way man."

"Well, lunch should be almost over. Shouldn't we all get back to class?" Nick voiced.

"Yeah." Allen said. "They might blame me if you guys are late."

"Wait, what about those kids skipping?" Tyler asked. "Aren't you on the Disciplinary Committee? Shouldn't you go tell someone?"

"Look, I'll deal with them. You just go back to class."

"But I want to help!" Tyler yelled. "Look, I don't like people who don't do their best! I want to help you natch these guys!"

"I appreciate the concern, but the fact remains that you still have to get to class."

"But if you say I was helping you, which I was, then they shouldn't be able to punish me!"

"Then what happens when they ask why you weren't in class in the first place?"

"I'll just say I offered to help and you agreed!" Tyler retorted. "If you just give up and say 'sure', then all of that will be true! They can't bust us!"

Allen furrowed his brow in thought. "Fine. But none of the rest of you can come. Violet, go back to class. And the same goes for you two." He pointed at Nick and Micah.

"For future reference, I'm Micah."

"And I'm Nick."

"Whatever, you guys just go back to class." Allen turned to Tyler. "If you're really coming along you better be ready to duel them. They might resist." The rest of the group reluctantly left Allen and Tyler.

"You said they're dropouts right? Believe me, they won't beat us!" Tyler said.

"I still wouldn't underestimate them." Allen warned. "They have two whole years experience on you."

"But can experience always beat skill?" Tyler asked.

"What happens when a Level 70 Orc fights a skilled Level 10 Warrior? Even if that Warrior has more skill than most other Level 10 Warriors, he's still gonna get smashed into a pancake on a silver platter with his ass on it."

"What?" Tyler didn't get the RPG reference at all.

"Nevermind. Let's get going!"

The two teens ran over to the Slifer dorm. The bell rang as they were passing the main building.

'_Man I hope my next teacher won't be too mad.'_ Tyler thought. _'I mean how can he punish me when I'm helping the Academy?'_

The teens ran to the beach and along the coast of the island. They soon neared to the Slifer dorm where three kids clad in red blazers awaited them.

"What the hell?" Tyler muttered. "Who are these kooks?"

"Just a few troublemakers." Allen said. "Their attendance record is almost as bad as their hair." Allen looked particularly at the one with half a head of purple hair. "And that's saying something."

"And they haven't been kicked out yet!" Tyler exclaimed.

"Their grades are exceptional, when they do bother to show up." Allen looked at them. "Well, if they actually applied themselves they could be in Ra easy."

"Then why?" Tyler asked. "Why are they in Red?"

"Peer pressure." Allen sneered. "The assholes in Blue, of the ones that are assholes, continually mocked them. I kinda know these guys from last year, but they were already in Red. They just kept getting mocked. And I guess it got to them. I heard they were laughed at for liking anime or liking other card games, or being poor. Whatever it is, they just stopped trying."

"Even still, to let them stay here for over a year."

"Well, Mrs. Yuki has a good heart. She keeps trying to make appointments with them, they never show up. She wants to help them from the bottom of her heart." Allen sighed. "Come on; let's see if we can't give it one last shot."

As the two approached the rebels, Tyler thought to himself. _'Wow. This school has more problems than I would have thought! I guess being a good duelist doesn't mean much when others are constantly mocking you. It must get to you after a while.'_

"So Vic, you aren't even gonna show up on the first day? Let the teachers think you care?" Allen asked the guy with spiky black hair. The only one with a sensible hair style.

"What does it matter?" Vic responded. "At the end of the year, we'll just be tossed out anyway. What does having that happen earlier change?"

"Look, how about this? You go to class, if not for you, then for Mrs. Yuki." Allen pleaded. "She really wants to help you!"

"Look, nobody can help us. We just don't care anymore. We suck at this, so why should we even try?"

"Oh that is such bullshit!" Tyler yelled.

"What? Who the hell are you?"

"I'm the guy who barely made it into this school! Just because you aren't so great you think you can give up! When I dueled Allen here, and he told me he was being held back, you know what I said?" Tyler shouted. "I was glad that this school had amazing duelists in the second year! I barely won! I even almost failed my entrance exam!"

"And? What is that supposed to motivate us?" Liberty spikes asked.

"It's supposed to tell you that it doesn't matter if you suck! You keep on trying!" Tyler ranted. "God if people kept giving up when the going got tough, you know what wouldn't be here today! A lot of newcomers! They would have given up when their duels got hard! You need to accept that even if you aren't the best, you can be something! I don't know how bad you guys got picked on, but seriously if that was all it took to get you guys to give up, then duelists back then were totally pathetic!"

"Hey!" Vic stood up. He was about a head taller than Tyler, but the black haired teen didn't back down. "Who the hell are you to judge us! We gave it our best and made it into Red! Then every time we dueled, they would be there! Mocking us at every card we played! It rattled us so bad we could barely hold our cards!"

"Then I guess you can hold them now! Because there isn't anyone around here but us!" Tyler yelled back. "Let's go, you and me! I win, you go to class for the rest of the year and pass! You win, I'll never harp on you again! We got a deal!"

"You are so on!" Vic yelled. The duel disk on his arm whirred into place.

"Now things are getting interesting!" Tyler shouted as his own duel disk snapped into place and lit up.

The teens both shouted "Duel!"

Dark: Woot! Cliffhanger!

Jack: You know it's obvious that he wins.

Dark: So? I bet if I write an entertaining enough duel, then it won't really matter!

Kaiba: No I think it still matters.

Dark: You sure? Well let's make a bet!

Manjoume: What kinda bet?

Dark: If my readers enjoy next chapters duel then you guys have to dress like caterpillars!

All (except Dark):…

Jack: Why caterpillars.

Dark: Because anything else will be too traumatizing.

Kaiba: I dunno, your female fanbase might enjoy seeing us in weird clothes.

Dark: That's why this is a penalty game. If it were anything other than caterpillars, people might get the wrong emotion.

Kaiba: What emotion will caterpillar suits invoke?

Dark: Hilarity.

Jack: Well I know that I, JACK ATLUS, will accept the terms of this bet!

Manjoume: As will I, Manjoume Thunder!

Kaiba: And me too! Kaiba!

All (Except Kaiba):…

Dark: You have no nickname do you?

Kaiba: Don't think so.

Dark: Alright and if my readers think my duel sucks or is a total waste of time, then I will kill off my own main character!

Kaiba: Are you legally allowed to do that?

Dark: While I may not own Yugioh, this story is mine! And in it I can do whatever the hell I want dammit!

Next time on Yugioh: Six Scions! Will Tyler be able to get through to Vic and his friends? Or will his words fall on deaf ears? And will Tyler's teacher be angry that Tyler is missing class? Well find out, next time on Yugioh: Six Scions!

I would very much appreciate reviews. If I don't get enough reviews, the devil will steal what little creativity I have left. Do you want that? One less artistic soul in this world? If not then please R&R!


	5. Chapter 4: A Duelists' Spirit

A Note to all old readers: I altered some previous chapters a bit. Some more than others. To newer readers, continue on as if it's always been that way! Enjoy!

Dark: Welcome back to another exciting episode of Yugioh!: Six Scions!

Jack: With your host, me! JACK ATLUS!

Manjoume: And Manjoume Thunder!

Kaiba: And Kaiba!

All (but Kaiba): ….

Dark: Still no nickname?

Kaiba: I'm so awesome, I don't need one.

Dark: Well, since you're here and awesome and all, I guess I could give you one…..

Kaiba: Really? What?

Dark: Easy! Dragon Fetishist!

Kaiba: …..No.

Dark: Magnificent Jerkass?

Kaiba: Still no.

Dark: I got it now! Majestic Bastard!

Kaiba: N-Wait that one isn't too bad.

Dark: Really!

Kaiba: No.

Jack: This intro has a surprising lack of ME! JACK ATLUS!

Manjoume: I know right?

Jack: So now we must get on with the show!

Dark: True that. Also, one more note: I probably messed up on a LOT of timing rules in this duel, but it's all good because it was for awesomeness, right? Right!

Previously on Yugioh: Six Scions…

"_Then I guess you can hold them now! Because there isn't anyone around here but us!" Tyler yelled back. "Let's go, you and me! I win, you go to class for the rest of the year and pass! You win, I'll never harp on you again! We got a deal!"_

"_You are so on!" Vic yelled. The duel disk on his arm whirred into place._

"_Now things are getting interesting!" Tyler shouted as his own duel disk snapped into place and lit up. _

_The teens both declared "Duel!"_

T: 4000

V: 4000

"I'll start us off!" Tyler said as he drew his starting hand. "I'll kick this duel off with Totem Dragon in defense mode! (400/200) Then I'll lay two facedowns and end my turn!" A small and yellow dragon appeared that looked as if it was made by ancient Aztecan people.

"Oh really now? Well I guess I'll summon Primal Spirit – Laevus in defense mode (100/100)!" A small black….thing appeared. It made small growling noises.

"Uhh, what the hell is that thing?" Tyler asked. "It looks…alive?" The monster just looked plain baffling.

"Heh, well Primal Spirit – Laevus here is a beast spirit! He channels power through himself and acts as a conductor for nature!" Vic explained. "When he's destroyed in battle, I can add a level 4 Beast monster to my hand from my deck! And with these facedowns, I end my turn." Two large cards appeared at his feet.

"Well let me grant this spirit its death wish! I use my Totem's ability! I can count him as two releases for a Dragon type monster!" Totem Dragon shined with a bright light. "I use him to Advance Summon my Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500)!" A large brown dragon appeared and unfurled its wings. It let loose a mighty roar.

"I activate my facedown card! Adhesion Trap Hole!" Vic waved his arm to the side as his trap rose up. "This trap makes any monster summoned lose half of its attack and defense points!"

A large hole that looked to be filled with some sort of purple goo suddenly appeared beneath Tyrant Dragon. However, the green jewel atop Tyrant Dragon's head began to shine brightly. The Hole immediately disappeared and Vic's trap card shattered.

"Sorry man, but my Tyrant Dragon can't be targeted by the effects of trap cards." Tyler smirked. "Try again next turn. But as for now, my Dragon attacks your Laevus! _Terrorizing Flame Breath!"_ The mighty dragon unleashed a torrent of flame at the helpless black blob thing. It was immediately incinerated.

"I activate Laevus' effect to bring Primal Spirit – Leopard to my hand!" Vic added in the card. "But I'm not done! The destruction of Laevus has triggered two of my card effects! First, my trap card! Spiritual Guidance!" As Vic's trap arose, he explained that when a Beast was destroyed in battle, he could summon a level 4 Primal Spirit from his deck.

"And I choose Primal Spirit – Tiger! (1400/1100)" A strange orange and black striped tiger appeared wearing black armor. It had a strange aura to it. "And I also activate the effect of the Green Baboon, Guardian of the Forest from my hand! When a Beast is destroyed in any way, by paying 1000 life points, I can summon him from my hand!"

T: 4000

V: 3000

A baboon with green skin appeared wielding an intimidating club and donned similar black armor as the Spirit. (2600/1000) "And I'm still not finished!" Vic declared.

"Man how long is this gonna take?" Tyler asked. "It's not even his turn!"

"When Primal Spirit – Tiger is Special Summoned, I can summon one Primal Spirit in my hand! So I summon the Primal Spirit – Leopard I got with Laevus! (1900/1300) And now, Leopard lets me draw 3 cards when he's special summoned on my opponents turn!"

"Are you finished yet?" Tyler asked.

"For now I am."

"Good. Because my Tyrant Dragon has his own special power! Aside from being unable to be targeted by traps, whenever you have a monster on the field after his first attack, he can immediately attack again!" Tyler declared the attack against the Tiger. "Go! _Terrorizing Flame Breath_!"

The monster was incinerated just as badly as the Laevus was. Vic let out a yell as his life points were hit from the aftermath of the attack.

T: 4000

V: 1500

As the flames cleared, Tyler could be seen smirking. Suddenly, a hawk wearing black armor flew directly into Tyler, damaging him.

T: 2500

V: 1500

Vic was also smirking at the look on Tyler's face. "One of the monsters Leopard let me draw was my Primal Spirit – Hawk. Whenever I take damage due to a battle with a Primal Spirit, I can make you take an equal amount of damage by discarding him!"

"Not bad, man. Really. I still don't understand it though. Why are you just giving up!" Tyler was close to pleading. "Why would you just stop doing something you love because of a few assholes!"

Vic looked off to the side. "Look kid, I've been around here for a while. This place is amazing. It's so advanced and new, and everyone is so happy here at first." The spiky haired senior sighed. "Then they learn about the…...'grading curve'."

"You mean the bribes." Tyler asked.

"Well if you wanna be blunt about it, then yes. The bribes."

"But Chancellor Yotogi seemed so honest! How could he do such a thing!"

"Who said anything about the Chancellor?" Vic responded. "This school has other staff members in it you know."

"But Jack and Mrs. Yuki seem on the straight and narrow!" Tyler retorted. "Who could be bribed and still pull that kind of stuff off?"

"Dr. Klaus von Weinhammer. Head of Obelisk Dorm." Allen suddenly cut in. "Only the head of Obelisk could cheat students into his dorm."

Tyler just muttered, "Bastard." Then he regained his composure. "I'll end my turn. Show me whatcha got!"

"My turn. Draw." Vic drew his next card. "I'll summon my Primal Warrior – Spearman in attack mode! (1800/1500)" A lean warrior appeared in a loincloth carrying a large spear. He had elaborate red and black war-paint on his face.

"And his special ability lets me equip him with one Primal Spirit monster in my graveyard with 1500 or lower ATK! And I equip him with Primal Spirit – Tiger!" The black armored tiger appeared and as the warrior hopped atop the beast, it let loose a roar.

"Now my Warrior gains the attack and defense points of my Tiger! (1800/1500 - 3200/2600)" Vic smirked as his monsters attack points surpassed Tyler's dragon. "Now go! Attack his Dragon with _Pouncing Pierce_!"

Tyler winced as his dragon was pierced through the heart by the warrior's spear.

T: 2200

V: 1500

"And now you're left wide open! Go, Green Baboon! Direct attack!" Vic yelled. His abnormally large ape monster leapt towards Tyler with intent to smash him to nothing.

"This duel's not over yet! I activate my trap! Dragon's Revenge!" Tyler's trap rose showing a picture of a generic dragon attacking another monster with a second dragon behind him, fallen. "When you destroy a Dragon monster of mine in battle, then attack, I can stop the attack, end the battle phase and deal damage to you equal to your monsters attack points! It also wipes out your monster!"

A phantom of Tyrant Dragon arose and breathed flame from its maw. The flames halted and incinerated the advancing Baboon, then soared towards Vic himself.

"I activate the effect of my Primal Warrior! By destroying a Primal Spirit equipped to him, I can negate any damage this turn!" The Tiger jumped in front of the flames and shielded his master from the damage.

Tyler scowled as the backlash of his own card hit him.

T: 1500

V: 1500

"I end my turn."

"My turn, draw!" Tyler drew his card. "I play the spell card, N – Nesting Grounds! This lets me either add any Dragon from my deck to my hand or Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Dragon in my hand or Grave. I choose the latter effect! So arise once more, Totem Dragon!" The Aztecan dragon appeared once again.

"And now I Release him to Advance Summon my Light and Darkness Dragon!" The monster was once again engulfed in light. The glow steadily grew brighter, until it finally faded, revealing a strange monster. It looked as if a dragon of Light and one of Darkness had been sliced in half, and then stuck together. It had one majestic angel wing, and one malicious demon wing, and two tails, with a very distinct line between the white and black halves.

It let loose a roar. (2800/2400)

"And now I attack your Primal Warrior with my dragon!" Tyler yelled. The beast began to charge a great amount of power in its mouth. "Destroy him with your _Shining Breath_!"

The monochromatic dragon unleashed a great burst of light and energy from its maw, eviscerating the exotic spearman.

T: 1500

V: 500

"I end my turn."

Vic drew his card and placed it in his hand as he grabbed another card and shouted, "I summon my Primal Warrior – Shaman in attack mode! (1700/1000)"

Another warrior appeared, this time in a more regal looking fur garment. He had tanned skin and similar face paint to the previous warrior.

"His effect activates. If I have two or more Primal monsters, I can Special Summon one Primal monster to my field from my deck!" The Shaman glowed with a soft light.

Tyler suddenly shouted, "Go! _Dark Baptism!"_ Suddenly the Shaman was enveloped in black lightning that seemed to pain him. The glowing lights dispersed as the lightning shocked the warrior. The lightning was coming from Tyler's dragon!

"Sorry, but my Light and Darkness Dragon here negates any and all effects activated by reducing his own ATK and DEF by 500 points." (2800/2400 - 2300/1900) The dragon seemed to diminish slightly in stature, but retained every bit of ferocity. It let loose another roar at the successful negation.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn by switching my Leopard to defense mode." Vic sighed. His jungle cat slouched down and lowered its head as if bowing.

"I draw." Tyler drew his next card. "Unfortunately, my dragon also negates my cards, so I'm restricted in what I can play as well." Tyler looked up at his monster. "However, with him on the field, his strength is mine to control! So now I attack your Shaman! _Shining Breath_!"

The dragon once more opened its mouth and let loose a shining beam of light.

"Facedown, open! Activate, Primal Shout!" Vic's trap rose up to reveal a picture of a Primal Warrior glowing. "I can remove from play one Primal Spirit monster in my grave to negate an attack and give the removed monster's attack points to the attack target! So I remove my Primal Spirit – Tiger to pay out my trap's cost!"

"It's no use!" Tyler shouted and waved his arm. "Light and Darkness Dragon, negate his trap with _Dark Baptism_!" Once again, black lightning emitted from Tyler's beast and slammed into the seniors trap card, which shattered. (2300/1900 - 1800/1400)

The blast was reduced in size, but was still enough to weather away the shaman.

Tyler: 1500

Vic: 400

"And with this facedown, I end my turn." Tyler finished. Another card appeared as Vic drew his next card. He mulled over his options for a bit. Any card effect that would be activated would be negated by Tyler's dragon. The thing still had 1800 attack, so he still had three negations in him left.

"I'll start by playing my spell, Spellbook Inside the Pot! This allows both of us to draw three cards!" Light and Darkness emitted black lightning once more, and destroyed Vic's spell, weakening the dragon once more. (1800/1400 - 1300/900)

"Next I'll switch my Leopard into attack mode and attack your Dragon!" The feline rose from its defensive posture and leapt towards the dragon's throat with killing intent.

"I activate my facedown! Negate Attack!" Tyler called out and his trap rose up. "And because Negate Attack is a Counter Trap, my Dragon isn't able to negate it." Tyler may not have a good grasp of every element of the game, but he did pick up a few tricks from more experienced players.

"I'll set one card and end my turn." Vic sighed.

"Good, because now I activate my spell, F – Fierce Storm!" Tyler said as he drew his next card. "This is of course negated by my dragon." Black lightning shot out once more from the Dragon, and shattered Tyler's spell. (1300/900 - 800/400) "But in return, it let's me activate this spell card! Heartbeat of the Tyrant!" Tyler activated his card. The majestic dragon once more attempted to strike out, but failed.

"Wait!" Vic shouted, "Why can't he negate any more card effects! He has 800 attack points left! That leaves him with one negation!"

"Look at his defense points." Tyler stated. "He only has 400 defense points, and therefore cannot pay the cost to his own effect. So now I continue my move! I discard my Strong Wind Dragon to revive my Tyrant Dragon to the field!"

Once more, the brown dragon appeared and roared, with the jewel on its forehead shining brightly. "However…." Tyler took on a solemn expression as Light and Darkness Dragon was suddenly dragged down beneath the ground. "…..the ruler rises alone. When Tyrant Dragon is summoned from my graveyard, I have to release one of my other dragons as a cost." Tyler looked at his graveyard. "I'm sorry Light and Darkness. But the king is alone in his conquest."

"So the tyrant's rise to power is a lonely one…." Allen mumbled at Tyler and his dragon. "Who knew the kid could be poetic?" Then he shouted out. "Tyler, stop pretending to be deep and finish this!"

Tyler looked up and said with a smile, "Aw come on! Can't I be a brooding hero?"

"That's for later. Right now you're the cocky hero. Character development is for after the exposition."

"Fine, whatever." Tyler turned back towards Vic. "Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, Tyrant Dragon attack! _Terrorizing Flame Breath_!" Once more the beast unleashed a torrent of fire to destroy Primal Spirit – Leopard.

"I activate my trap! Threatening Roar! This stops any and all attacks during your turn!" Vic shouted as his card arose to depict Manticore of Darkness roaring at a frightened Behemoth, King of All Animals. The Leopard roared at Tyler's dragon and despite the size difference, the dragon backed down.

Tyler frowned a bit. Because the trap affected him, his dragon couldn't stop it. "I'll set one card and end my turn."

"Fine! I'll draw!" Vic drew and looked at his card. "I got just the card to win this!" He smiled. "I activate this! My Call of the Wild spell card!" He placed the card in his disk. "Now I can special summon one Beast monster from my deck! I special summon my Primal Spirit – Jaguar in attack mode! (1800/400)" A jet black jungle cat appeared on Vic's field, that was covered in black armor similar to his Primal Spirit allies, although the armor was difficult to notice.

"When Jaguar is summoned out, I can summon a Primal Warrior in my grave! Arise, Primal Warrior – Shaman!" The exotic fighter arose once again. "And with his effect, I summon the Primal Spirit – Anaconda from my deck!" A green serpent appeared, larger than any found on Earth, wearing the traditional Primal monster black armor. (900/2100)

"And my Anaconda is a Tuner monster." Vic stated. "So now I tune my level 3 Anaconda with my Level 4 Shaman!" The snake whirled itself into the air, transforming into 3 rings of green light. The jungle man leapt through the rings, becoming four shining white stars.

"_Through the hallowed halls of your domain, rise now and unleash your primal fury! Synchro Summon! Roar forth, Primal Spirit – Ancestor Tiger!"_

A large beast roared forth. It looked similar to a tiger, yet was much larger than any other and glowed with a soft white light. It let loose a mighty growl. (2900/2000) "And my Ancestors effect lets me destroy one card on your field by releasing one Primal monster! I destroy your Tyrant Dragon!" A piercing beam of light struck Tyler's dragon's heart, defeating it instantly as the Leopard vanished into the air.

"And now I finish this! Go Ancestor Tiger! Wipe him out!" Vic flung his arm out.

"Trap, activate! Fanged Spirit!" Trap shouted. "When you destroy one of my dragons and attack, I immediately end the Battle Phase!" Once more, Tyrant Dragon's ghost appeared and stopped the Ancestor from passing.

"I'll end my turn here." Vic announced, confident in his monster's abilities. Then he stopped. When did he have confidence in his cards? It must have been during the duel at some point that Tyler had awakened a fierce spirit inside of him. His Duelists' Spirit.

"Well it's my turn now!" Tyler drew his next card. "During my standby phase, and because all of the monsters in my graveyard are Dragons, I can summon Totem Dragon once more to the field in attack mode!" For the third time in the duel, the Aztec dragon appeared.

"And let's finish this! Now I summon out my Blaster-Zone Dragon!" (1700/1000) The gray dragon appeared by the Aztec dragon. "Next I activate my spell card, Dragon's Gunfire!" Tyler placed the card into his spell and trap zone. "This spell lets me destroy a monster on your side of the field with less than 800 defense points! I destroy Primal Spirit – Jaguar with my spell!" The spell card gathered up energy, then released it directly at the jungle cat.

One of Vic's skipping buddies spoke up. "Why would he destroy the monster? Wouldn't it have made more sense if he used the burn damage effect to win?"

"It's symbolism." Allen spoke. "Blaster-Zone has the ability to wipe out any monster it battles with regardless of attack strength. By using a weak monster to take down the stronger monster, Tyler is saying that even weak people can stand up to the strong."

Having not heard the transaction among the spectators, Tyler cried out, "And now my Blaster-Zone Dragon will attack your Ancestor Tiger! _Burn Blast_!" A jet of fire was released by the grey dragon.

"What the-?" Vic shouted as his monster was incinerated in the inferno. "What the hell just happened!"

"My Blaster-Zone Dragon destroys any Attack position monster it battles regardless of attack points. And now that your field is open, I'll finish this! Go, Totem Dragon! _Tackle Attack_!"

The small dragon flew towards Vic and slammed into his chest, knocking him over.

T: 1500

V: 0

"And that's game." Tyler finished as his duel disk returned to its idle position.

Vic sat up from his spot on the ground, before he started to laugh. "That duel was great. I never knew I could have so much fun!" Then he shook his head. "No, I knew I could, I had just forgotten." He looked up at his junior. "Thanks Tyler."

"Hey, no problem man! I was just helping someone who lost their way for a while!" Tyler smiled at his newfound friend.

"And so through defeat, our young hero gains a new comrade in arms." Allen muttered.

Tyler overheard this and said, "Allen why are you narrating? And you're only a year older than me! So don't call me young!"

"I'm counting dog years."

Tyler just stayed silent for a moment. He turned back towards Vic. "So Vic, ready to go to class now?"

"Yeah, I think I am." Vic said as he let Tyler help him stand.

"Alright, so we go through that whole ordeal," Tyler was speaking, "Just for us to turn them in?" Tyler looked at Allen, exasperated. "Isn't that kind of dick for us? I mean, the guy just got his Duelist Spirit back! And then we shove him in the slammer? The hell kinda logic is that?"

"Look, he broke the rules." Allen responded as they walked away from the disciplinary center in the main building. "If it were you or those friends of yours, even if it was Violet, I can't show favorites. You break the rules, I bust you. No ifs, ands or buts."

"Yeah, I guess I can get that." Tyler looked away. "Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth….."

"No kidding."

"I thought you didn't show favorites?"

"That doesn't mean I can't show compassion."

The two walked in silence as Allen was showing Tyler to his next class with the guy responsible for a whole lot of Duel Academy Mach's problems: Professor Weinhammer.

"Doctor." Allen replied.

Tyler was knocked out of his thoughts. "What?"

"You said he was a Professor. He's a Doctor."

"But I didn't say that out loud…."

"Who said I heard it? I just read the script."

"Script?"

"Nevermind." Allen looked up at the ceiling. "Curse you and your fourth wall breaking tendencies."

"Who are you talking to?"

"You'll find out in due time."

Tyler just stopped walking with a confused gaze on his face. Was this Allen guy insane? Talking about dialogues and knowing what he was thinking?

…Was Allen psychic?

"I'm not psychic. Now hurry up and follow me to your class."

Tyler eyes nearly popped out of his head. Who the hell was this guy!

The two walked on in silence once more. Suddenly Tyler spoke up. "So, Allen."

"Yeah?"

"You knew Violet when she was younger. Was she always such a…..overachiever?"

"Fishing for info on your love interest?"

"Stop doing that!"

"I can't, it's my job to torment you and break the fourth wall."

"What in the hell is a fourth wall?"

"Read what I said about the script. You will learn in time."

"Whatever. Alright I'll admit it, I like Violet. So spill the story. Likes, dislikes, dreams, what have you."

"She likes to duel, she dislikes cliché storylines and she dreams to have a normal life as a pro duelist." Allen replied being as nondescript as possible.

"I dislike cliché's too."

"But wouldn't a cliché storyline end up with you two together?"

Tyler stayed silent for a moment. "…Dammit. I hate your logic."

"Learn from me, and one day you too will be tormenting a junior of your own."

"As tempting as that is, I think I'll be too busy needing to keep my grades up and making sure I survive the wacky hijinx I'll be sure to go through to learn to be genre savvy."

"Did you really just explain the filler chapters?"

Tyler sighed. "Probably. Wait what are filler chapters?"

Allen sighed. "Okay, that's enough lampshading and fourth wall breaking for this chapter. Time for plot."

"What do you mean?"

"We're here."

It was true. They had arrived at a classroom with Dr. Weinhammer's name on it. "Make sure not to go ballistic on the guy when you get in there." Allen warned.

"Why? Are you worried I might do something I'll regret later?"

"No." Allen replied. "I'm worried that if you get to him first, I won't get a piece of him later."

"Oh don't worry. If I ever get this guy, I'll be sure to let everybody this guy's fucked with get a piece of him!" Tyler and Allen pounded fists before the green-haired senior bid farewell to his junior and walked off. Tyler let out a deep breath. "It's showtime."

He pushed open the door to see a gaunt man in a deep blue longcoat. Underneath, he wore a black shirt and blue pants. His face was pale and sharp, like a dagger. Black hair hung in front of black eyes, black like coals. He also had sunken cheeks that were as sunken as…..something that's sunken.

'_Stop the metaphors!' _Tyler commanded. _'Nobody thinks like that!'_

"And who are you?" The man asked in a very cliché and sophisticated voice. "Do you belong in this class?" then he noticed Tyler's jacket. "Or even belong in this school?" He said with a disapproving tone.

Tyler's eye twitched a bit. _'I think this guy and I will be having a very…FUN relationship!'_

"Name's Tyler Verano, sir!" Tyler shouted. "First-year Slifer Red, making your acquaintance!" He mock saluted the man.

The doctor let out a grunt. "Why were you so late?"

"I was assisting the school's disciplinary committee apprehend some skippers." Tyler's voice was filled with disrespect towards the man, making it clear in every word that time talking to this guy was time wasted.

"And where is your proof of that?" Dr. Weinhammer inquired, still making it sound as if he were talking to something far inferior and disgusting.

Tyler actually stopped for a second, an action for which Weinhammer was visibly pleased. "In retrospect, having Allen walk away before getting here was probably a bad idea in and of itself…." He mumbled.

"Allen?" Weinhammer asked. "Are you speaking of the disciplinary committee's Allen Brooks?"

"Actually yeah I am." Tyler smiled. "You know the guy? He's pretty strange if you ask me, but he's got a good heart."

"You speak of him so casually. How did you two meet? No doubt he was apprehending you."

Tyler smirked. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, sir. Allen was my duel proctor, and we decided to continue to be friends."

Weinhammer grimaced. "Are you saying you defeated Allen in a duel?"

"Oh don't blame him, sir. He was using a proctor's deck my little sister could beat."

'_Completely ignoring the fact that I almost lost. And that I don't have a sister.' _Tyler thought.

The man replied, "Of course. It's not as if someone of Allen's caliber would be defeated by one such as yourself."

Tyler's eye twitched again, "Are you saying that I'm not a good enough duelist to beat Allen?"

Weinhammer smirked. "I'm beginning to wonder now if you actually possess some semblance of a brain in that head of yours."

That's it. Our hero would have gone completely batshit insane on the guy had he not been a teacher and the fact that he had an entire class of witnesses just a few feet to his right. Tyler talked through clenched teeth while still keeping up the smile. If he didn't, the entire act would completely drop and he would probably maul the bastard.

"Oh you're so funny Doctor. I'm going to take my seat now."

"You can't take a seat in my class. You were late; I'm ordering you to leave."

Tyler glared at him. "But why? I was just helping out the school."

"A likely story."

Really was this guy asking for an ass kicking? He looked so thin a breeze would have knocked him over! Tyler openly scowled.

"Look, if you want proof, call the Disciplinary Committee. They saw my name and face since I had to make a report. They'll testify to my whereabouts." Tyler stopped mocking the man and was being completely serious.

"I think I will."

"Go ahead."

Weinhammer walked over to his desk and picked up the phone and dialed in a few numbers. Tyler couldn't hear the conversation, but he could see the man nod his head a couple times. He hung the phone back up and turned towards the latecomer. With a disapproving tone he said, "They remember you. Take a seat."

Tyler smirked again and said, "Of course Doctor." He looked towards the group of students that were seated, watching the whole exchange, when he noticed Violet sitting up near the middle of the crowd. _'Well, class can't be all bad now, can it?'_

He stepped off towards the class and climbed up the stairs to about where Violet was and scooted himself down the row to sit next to the brunette. "Hey Violet, what I miss?" He said as he plopped down next to her.

She eyed him warily and said, "Dr. Weinhammer was just explaining how he would be teaching advanced card combos and occasionally letting us duel each other. Today we're just discussing personal combos of ours."

"Oh, well I can dig that."

"I'm so glad that you can _dig_ that Mr. Verano. Why don't you tell us what _your_ favorite combo is?" Weinhammer sneered.

"Me?" Tyler asked. "I think my favorite combo is using Masked Dragon to Special Summon my Darkblaze Dragon. I can get a high-leveled monster on my field that I can use with several of my cards, and even if it's sent to the grave, if I revive it, its attack points go way up." He explained easily. "There's also another combo I really like but I only get to do it every so often…"

"Well please do share this combo you speak of." Weinhammer urged. Tyler narrowed his eyes. Why did he suddenly want to know about his cards? Its not like the information could help him much, but it was still suspicious.

"Well, I don't really like to tell my secrets, you know? It's like how I held myself back from using my Trident Dragion as much as possible before getting here."

"And this Trident Dragion is your best monster, correct?" Weinhammer inquired.

"Well I wouldn't say my best, but he is my ace." Tyler replied. He felt kind of strange revealing so much of his strategies to people he had never dueled before. He brushed it off as paranoia and decided to try and ignore it.

"Interesting." Weinhammer nodded. He seemed generally intrigued about Tyler's strategy and turned towards another person near the front. "You there, Ashley….Thompson was it? Explain a combo that you enjoy to perform."

It was the red-head who bumped into Tyler right before his duel with Allen. Tyler could barely make her out, but he did recognize her some and she was wearing a blue vest, like Violet's. She spoke up in a voice that you could almost tell she wanted to spit acid at the guy, but was holding back.

"Well, I try to use my Flamvell monsters to whittle down my opponents' defenses, then strike with my Ancient God Flamvell by using Giant Trunade to add all their spells and traps to their hand and increasing the number of cards I can remove from their grave and raise my God's attack points even further." She clarified. "It's less of a combo and more of my deck strategy."

"That's good." Weinhammer smiled. The man made many of the kids sick. But what could they do? He controlled their future right now.

The class continued on for a while, and Tyler talked with Violet for a bit. They talked mostly about last night and how the dinner went for them.

"The Blue dorms were huge!" She exclaimed. "I could hardly believe it when my roommate and I walked in!" She gestured towards a blue haired girl talking to a guy with light green hair, both in blue outfits, a few rows up and to the side. "Her name's Amelia Crestfall. She's nice, but not the warmest person to talk to."

"My roomie was Micah at first, but then the dorm leader guy thought better and switched her and another guy named Adam Something. Michaels I think."

"Really? That's cool. I already had the Slifer dorm leader, Jacques. He seems like a really chill guy." Violet smiled.

Tyler laughed. "Yeah, he's pretty cool. A bit snarky and ominous, but I guess having him for a Dorm leader won't be so bad." He suddenly lost his smile. "Some _other_ dorm leaders on the other hand….." He trailed off to let her fill in the blanks.

Violet seemed a bit uneasy bad-mouthing the guy when they were right there in his classroom. "Well, I don't know if his methods are exactly the way I would teach, but he's still a good teacher nonetheless."

"A good teacher doesn't make a good person." Tyler sneered. "Really, taking bribes. Who does that?"

Violet shushed him, and started asking about why he was late for class. "You went with Allen right? So what happened?"

Tyler frowned a bit. He had really wanted to vent his anger about Weinhammer's methods, but he obliged. He relayed his story of meeting Vic and the fashionably challenged skippers, arguing with him and finally, dueling him. Then Tyler told her a secret. "Well, I'll admit Vic almost had me a few times. But I could have won at any time. I had set a card facedown in the very beginning that I never activated."

Violet grew curious. "What was it?"

Tyler smirked a bit. "A Continuous Trap called Dragon Heritage. I can summon a Dragon from my deck to the field with a level equal to half the level or lower of a Dragon I remove from play. I could have used it to Synchro Summon my Trident Dragion, easy."

"But why didn't you?"

"Had to give the guy a chance right?" Tyler laughed. "Besides, if I had won by using a bigger monster than he had, he wouldn't have got the message that you don't need strength to win."

Violet looked at him. "This coming from a guy who basically overkilled me with almost six thousand attack points."

Tyler replied sheepishly. "Well, in our duel I wasn't trying to make a point. Besides, my motto is 'There's no kill like overkill'."

"And how much did you overkill this Vic guy?" Violet asked skeptically.

Tyler turned red. "Uhh….No damage overflow." He reluctantly admitted. "I beat him with exactly the amount of damage I needed."

Violet smirked at him. "So no overkill?"

"No overkill." He sighed. "Unfortunately."

They shared a quick laugh. "So when are we gonna have that date?" Tyler quickly asked in the middle of their laughing, before he lost courage.

Violet almost immediately stopped. "Well uhh…." She was saved by the ringing of the class change bell. "Oh look, the bell!" She nervously stated. "Gotta get to class before you're late!" She practically shoved him out of the room, as she was in no hurry due to the fact that she had to be in Weinhammer's class for another hour and a half.

Tyler tried to protest, but it was to no avail. He looked annoyed, but he knew he would see her the very next day, if not while hanging around Allen. He'd get that answer eventually…even if the answer was no.

"So, that is the girl you've become so…...enamored with? She would make a fine Queen for you, master." The smooth voice made Tyler freeze.

He looked to his side to see Sipher Nexus standing next to the door of the room, leaning against the wall. His blue hair covered his left eye, while his right displayed a slightly psychotic gleam.

The hallway had very few students, and those that were there were fairly far away from Tyler and Sipher. "You know, master, she is a very strong duelist. After all, she was able to give you a good run. I approve!" Sipher gave a mocking smile and a thumbs-up gesture.

This immediately set Tyler off. He batted the thumb down and used up most of his self-control to not shout. "It's nothing like that. And if I ever hear her name from your mouth again, your ass is grass. And I don't want to here this 'master' stuff anymore, I'm so sick of it! I'm not him! I'm not….." Tyler's voice died down, but his glare didn't let up.

Sipher looked as if his smile had grown even wider. "Well, I see her often enough anyway." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Just as Tyler was about to ask him what he meant, the blue-haired boy continued. "She's in almost every class I have, so it can't be helped."

Before our hero could get in another word, Sipher turned and walked away. "In fact, if you two aren't involved, I might pursue her myself." And with that, he walked away, hands in his pockets.

Tyler's teeth were grinding together, his anger mounting. Before he could really think of something to do or say, he realized his right hand was aching. He had punched it straight into the wall in sheer anger. The wall was unharmed, while Tyler's knuckles were turning red.

'_Violet…' _Tyler thought. _'I will protect you from him! I will never let him anywhere near you!'_

Several students were staring at him as the sound of his fist connecting with the wall resounded through the hallway. He shrugged off their looks and walked back to Jack's room, shoulders stooped in a disgruntled walk.

Card Database:

Primal Spirit – Laevus – EARTH – Lv 1 – Beast/Effect – When this card is destroyed, add 1 Level 4 or lower Beast-type monster from your deck to your hand. (100/100)

Primal Spirit – Tiger – EARTH – Lv 3 – Beast/Effect – When this card is Summoned, Special Summon one 'Primal' monster from your hand in face-up attack position. (1400/1100)

Primal Spirit – Hawk – WIND – Lv 2 – Winged Beast/Effect – Activate only when you take Battle Damage as the result of a battle with a Primal Monster. Discard this card to inflict the same amount of damage to your opponent. (500/1500)

Primal Spirit – Leopard – EARTH – Lv 4 – Beast/Effect – When this card is Special Summoned, draw 1 card. When this card is Special Summoned during your opponents turn, draw an additional 2 cards. (1900/1300)

Primal Spirit – Jaguar – EARTH – Lv 4 – Beast/Effect – When this card is Summoned, Special Summon one Primal Warrior from your graveyard in face-up attack position. (1800/400)

Primal Spirit – Anaconda – EARTH – Lv 3 – Reptile/Tuner – This card cannot be destroyed in battle. During the turn this face-up card is selected as an attack target, the controller of this card takes 500 points of damage at the end of the Battle Phase. (900/2100)

Primal Warrior – Spearman – EARTH – Lv 4 – Warrior/Effect – When this card is Normal Summoned, select one level 3 or lower Primal Spirit monster in your graveyard and equip it to this card. This card gains ATK equal to the equipped monsters' ATK. If you would take damage from a card effect, you can destroy one card equipped to this card to negate the damage. Destroy any equip card equipped to this card during your Standby Phase. (1800/1500)

Primal Warrior – Shaman – EARTH – Lv 4 – Spellcaster/Effect – When this card is Summoned while you control 2 or more Primal monsters, Special Summon one Primal monster from your deck in face-up attack position. (1700/1000

Primal Spirit – Ancestor Tiger – LIGHT – Lv 7 – Beast/Synchro/Effect – 1 Primal Spirit Tuner monster + 1 Primal Warrior non-Tuner monster – Once per turn, you can Release one Primal monster on the field to destroy one card your opponent controls. (2900/2000)

Call of the Wild – Normal Spell – Special Summon one Primal Spirit monster from your deck.

Primal Shout – Activate only when a Primal monster on your side of the field is selected as an attack target. Negate that attack and remove from play one Primal Spirit monster in your graveyard. Increase the ATK of the attack target monster by the ATK of the removed monster.

Spiritual Guidance – Normal Trap – Activate only when a Primal monster you control is destroyed in battle. Special Summon one Primal Spirit monster from your deck.

Dark: Holy SHIT man! That was the hardest chapter I have ever had to write!

Jack: And why is that?

Dark: After the duel, I kinda lost momentum, but through sheer perseverance (and about two months) I finished the chapter!

Kaiba: Good job. But I seem to recall us having a wager about this chapter's duel.

Dark: You would remember you Dragon Fetishist. *glare*

Kaiba: *eye twitches* I thought you were gonna find me a better nickname.

Manjoume: Well, as Dark and Kaiba square off, Jack and I here will do the Card of the Chapter! This time, we have Primal Spirit – Ancestor Tiger, Totem Dragon, Primal Warrior – Shaman, Dragon's Gunfire, and Threatening Roar.

Jack: Well, since all previous cards have been Tyler's, and we wouldn't want to show bias, I am picking Threatening Roar as the Featured Card. It's a card many people run since it completely nullifies all of your opponent's attacks for the turn, but beware: if you use it when your opponent declares an attack the current one will go through since the attack has already been declared.

Dark: Alright Kaiba, time to put your money where your mouth is! Reviewers, time for feedback on this chapters duel! Remember, if you enjoyed it these guys are forced to be caterpillars for next chapter! But if you didn't like it for whatever reason, something bad will happen to Tyler near the end!

Kaiba: Wait, you said you would kill him off!

Dark: See you next time folks!

Next time on Yugioh!: Six Scions: It's been a few weeks since we last checked up on our favorite duelists, I wonder how they're faring? Tyler makes an application to join a club, while Micah tries to take things further with Adam. And what is Nick doing in a daze? Find out next time in

Chapter 5: Filling in the Blanks


	6. Chapter 5: Filling in the Blanks

Dark: So, what do we have? Responses of the previous duels are as follows: Good! People who have responded to the chapter's duel responded well! Looks like I win guys!

Jack, Kaiba and Manjoume (in caterpillar costumes): We call BS!

Dark: Um, what?

Kaiba: You know full well that most of the people who responded are your friends! We call BS!

Dark: Hey, all you said was the duel needed good feedback and that's what it got. If my results are biased you should have said something at the start.

Jack: …..We hate you Dark.

Dark: I love you too guys. *smiles*

Manjoume: Dark-Overlord-of-Death does not own Konami or Yugioh. Which begs the question, why the HELL ARE WE WEARING THESE OUTIFITS!

Dark: *eyes become on fire* A man always keeps his honorable word! To back out on that sacred oath is to become something that is lower than the dirt between a germs toes! By wearing those outfits, you are becoming symbols of masculinity! Paragons of manly honor! Shining stars of – Hey what are you doing! Don't take those off!

Jack: Screw you, and your manly honor. You just tried to copy Higurashi no Naku Koro ni!

Dark: *twitches* So what if I did? Keiichi makes a damn good point!

Manjoume: Just get on with the show, dammit!

Chapter 5: Filling in the Blanks

"So Tyler." Violet asked almost two weeks after the first day of school. "Ever think about joining one of the school clubs?"

Tyler looked at her from his sandwich. The two were sitting at lunch, eating outside under a tree near the Ra dorm. The setting was chosen by Violet, who claimed the whole thing was a 'date'. She finally caved in and let Tyler take her out under her conditions. He readily agreed and now here they were.

Tyler thought to himself when saw the setting. _'Date my left foot. This is so not what I was expecting…'_

"A club? Like what do you mean?"

"You know, like there's the poetry club, the art club, music, school newspaper, you know all that stuff that doesn't pertain to cards."

"Umm, aren't we here to play card games? Besides, I hear all the art club does is draw cards, while the poetry club writes about cards. This game is everywhere, no matter what club I'm in." Tyler smiled. "I'm just in it for the pure sport itself."

Violet laughed. Tyler's feelings weren't completely unrequited, but Violet had a hard time with commitment. She didn't want to rush right into things and have them end up over their heads. "Well, what about the Disciplinary Committee? You seemed to do a good job working with Allen back on the first day."

Tyler gave it serious thought. "You know, that's not a bad idea. I do want to help the school, besides I'd get to meet all kinds of people!"

The two talked a bit more when suddenly Nick walked by, a zombified look in his eyes. He seemed to shuffle forward at a slow pace. His face looked empty and his mouth hung slightly open. He sat down across to the two duelists.

Tyler was the first to say something. And as usual, it was in his overly-simplistic manner. "Nick? What the hell happened to you?"

Nick slowly turned towards him. "Tyler, I think I'm in love."

They were silent for a moment when suddenly, Tyler couldn't help himself and started to laugh. "Wh-what are you talking about now? I gotta hear this."

Nick turned red, but continued speaking. "W-Well, I was sitting in class, thinking about new strategies for my deck, when this girl passed me." His eyes got a dreamy look in them. "Guys I'm telling you, she was an angel on Earth."

Tyler laughed again. "Okay, so our little Nicky here's got a case of love at first sight. Please tell me you know her name?"

Nick looked alarmed. "Uh, I didn't quite catch it, but I do know what she looks like." His eyes got dreamy again. "I see her every time I close my eyes."

Violet gushed. "Aww, that's so sweet! What does she look like? Do you know what kinds of cards she uses? What dorm is she in?" She launched off a volley of questions at the love struck boy.

The nervous brown-haired boy answered the questions as best he could with a bright red blush on his face. "U-Umm, well, she's in Blue dorm, and she's got this really pretty blue hair, like the deep ocean, and I don't know what kind of cards she uses but….."

Violet cut him off. "Wait, is her hair about waist length and does she have this real cold glare and an aggressive forward walk?"

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "That was spookily specific, so there's no way you're-

"Actually she's right." Nick replied, eyes wide. "She does look pretty aggressive, yet cold and her hair is about waist length."

Tyler's mouth dropped a bit. "So you know her Violet?"

"He just might be describing my roommate, Amelia. Remember I told you about her Tyler?" She turned towards him.

He looked thoughtful for a second then said, "I think I remember her coming up in passing. It was that first day in Weinhammer's class right?"

"Yeah it was." She nodded then turned towards the other brunette. "Nick, you know she's already one of the top students in the whole school _and_ the top first-year by itself, right?"

Nick's eyes turned wide as dinner plates again. "Really!" The he hung his head. "Damn, nobody like her would ever take a look at me then…."

Our hero then got a disappointed look on his face. "Violet, don't scare the kid! Nick, you can do anything if you work hard enough at it! C'mon, I'll help you snag her!" He gave him a thumbs-up. "I'm a master in the art of women!" His teeth sparkled for a second.

Then the other two sweat-dropped before Violet spoke up, "I know for a fact you aren't a master of women. You've yet to impress me!"

Tyler grinned. "Yeah, but I got you to call this little lunch a date. So this means we've already been out on a date once already. I've made good progress!"

Violet turned red. "I-I only called it a date to get out of you bugging me all the time! No way I'd ever date someone like you!"

Tyler looked hurt, in a mocking way. "Oh Violet, you wound me with your words!" He clutched his heart dramatically. "I mean, I'm only a better duelist than most of the first-years and not to mention my dashing good looks and undeniable charm!"

"And don't forget you're so _modest_!" A voice behind the group called. The three teens turned to see Adam and Micah walking arm-in-arm towards them. No need to be subtle, they were like an elephant in the room with their attraction towards each other even before the dating.

"And you're _intelligence_! Oh Tyler, you're the whole package!" Micah finished Adam's initial joke.

Tyler actually looked embarrassed for a moment then said, "Yeah well, you two aren't in a much better boat."

"Other than we're in a committed relationship whereas you're still stuck in the 'Friend Zone'." Adam retorted.

Tyler walked right up to him and said in a fierce tone, "Low blow, man. Low. Blow." Then he smiled mischievously and reminded him, "Just make sure you remember to tell me when you two are being 'committed' so I know when to crash at Zephyr's."

Zephyr Winston was another Red dorm student who lived right next to Tyler and Adam. He had green hair and eyes that were a lighter color than Allen's and used a lot of wind-attribute based monster called the Dragunity series. He was a pretty laid-back guy, all things considering.

Both of them turned bright red and Micah punched Tyler's arm. "Idiot! Don't say stuff like that!" Tyler laughed as Adam turned red. He wasn't about to hit Tyler, because to wit, he did forget about the rubber-band that one time and Tyler and Nick ventured into the room as he and Micah were making out. That was a very awkward day after that event.

"Hey, you know full well it was your fault." Tyler gave them a grin. He was honestly happy for them, being their friend; but secretly, watching them made him feel a little lonely, and thanks to this red jacket, the only other girl to even take note of him was Violet. And he could see how well _that _wasturning out.

"So what's the random topic of conversation for today?" Adam asked.

"Well, Nick here's in love…" Violet began hurriedly.

"Don't say that out loud!" Nick exclaimed.

"…And we were gonna help him out with that!" She finished, her green eyes sparkling.

Adam turned to her. "Why are you so excited about this? It's not as if this relationship will be drawn parallel to your own."

Tyler's eyes bugged out. What had he just said? Was everyone around him set on breaking walls and hanging lampshades? "What did you say Adam?"

"I asked why she was so excited and that it was hardly her business to meddle in others' love lives." The brown-haired boy replied.

Our hero spoke slowly, "You…..sure you didn't say something about parallels?"

"No, don't think so." Adam looked at him strangely. "You feeling okay Tyler? Need to see the Nurse?"

"Nah….I'm fine." Tyler shook his head and turned back to Nick, who was sitting there silently, red as a tomato from being the center of attention within the group. "Hey Nick, are you alright? If you don't feel comfortable talking to us about this we'll drop it." Being an only child, Tyler saw the kid as a little brother of sorts, even though they were roughly the same age. And considering Tyler's birthday was in October, there was a very good chance Nick was actually the older one.

But things like stature came into play, and with Nick being almost six inches shorter than most other guys in freshman year, he looked and sounded like a small kid.

He turned to Tyler, "N-No….it's just that, you know, she's all smart and good-looking and an amazing duelist and stuff….how does a little shrimp like me have a shot at somebody like that?"

Tyler suddenly turned indignant. "Nick, don't sell yourself short. You've got a great sense of humor, and hell you're way smarter than this whole group." He glanced sideways at Adam and Micah. _'Well, that ain't saying much. And Violet did do better on her acceptance exam. No! Don't lose your momentum!'_

"And you're a good duelist yourself! You gave me a run for my money, and I thrashed both Violet _and _Micah!" Both girls let out a 'Hey!' Tyler held up a hand to calm them. "My point being is that Nick here has a long list of good traits, and I bet if we can make this Emily girl-

"Amelia." Nick corrected.

"Right. I bet if we can make Amelia see those traits, she'll be head over heels for him!" Tyler gave them a flashing smile and a thumbs-up. "It's a fool-proof plan!"

They were silent for a long moment before Micah said something. "You're the fool for even thinking that plan up. But eh, what the hell? I've got nothing better to do."

"Except study and do homework." Adam reminded her. "I know for a fact that you're struggling in Mrs. Yuki's class. I'm not letting you blow off another study session just to play cupid with Boy Blunder over there." His face was stern and his eyes locked with Micah's. She pouted a little and crossed her arms and Tyler frowned at the Boy Blunder comment.

Micah turned to the side a bit and muttered just loud enough for him to hear. "So does that mean you don't believe in love?"

Adam suddenly turned red. "Wh-what! What are you saying! O-of course I do!" Adam suddenly became a sputtering mess, as Tyler, Nick and Violet silently laughed at them. "D-Don't put words in my mouth! I just think we'd be spending our time better by raising our grades!"

Tyler sighed. Micah had Adam totally whipped. Adam had mediocre exam scores, according to him, and only barely passed his duel, but he was a good student, willing to learn, studied hard, etc. But Micah was a free spirit. Whatever they were seeing in each other was beyond Tyler. But he supposed opposites could attract. At least he and Violet both had stubborn streaks over a mile long and a fervent passion for dueling.

"Look, I'm not really in the mood to sit through one of your lovers' spats. I've decided on helping Nick here and if you're in, say so, if not we're leaving." The dragon duelist shook his head. "C'mon Nick, let's go find this angel of yours and decide on a plan of action." He began walking off towards the Obelisk cafeteria, Nick and Violet quickly following him leaving the other two behind. Micah stuck her tongue out at them and turned to walk away. Adam sighed again, wondering how long it would be before his newfound friends gave him an ulcer.

When Tyler raised an eyebrow in question, the brunette replied, "He needs someone that can give him good advice, instead of just turning to you." Tyler's eye twitched a bit and he retorted.

"You know, just because I'm interested in you, doesn't mean I've never had another girlfriend."

…..

Was what Tyler WANTED to say, but he couldn't really say that now could he? The best he could offer was a simple: "Whatever."

Nick spoke up. "Tyler….you know this probably won't work right? I mean…..she still wouldn't take a second look at me even if I started to talk to her…"

Tyler began to get annoyed again. This was going to be tough to work around Nick's insecurities. "Nick, like I said, you just listen to me and everything will be fine! And trust me, if we get into the situation where I have to feed you lines through a microphone, I'm a hundred percent sure you know what to say and what not to say. Your judgment is way better than a B-rated comedy show character's."

Nick looked annoyed. "Thanks Tyler, that really calmed me down."

Tyler brightened up. "See? You got funny! All you have to do is show her you're a funny, smart guy and she'll be all over you! It's totally gonna work!"

Violet sighed and spoke up. "Sarcasm is not a very good thing to base a relationship on. You have to show her you're attentive and kind, not just some funny guy with obvious intentions." The magician user shook her head. "Just because you're smart and funny doesn't mean that's all she's gonna want from a guy. If you show her you have other good qualities then chances are she'll fall for one of them."

Nick nodded at her every word and listened intently. It seemed to Tyler like he was going to listen to her more than him. Well, as long as Nick was happy, how bad could it get?

_ _45 minutes later…_ _

"Okay that was pretty bad." Violet panted as the three hid behind a tree and Amelia ran past them, franticly searching for them, rage pasted on her face. "How was I supposed to know that she was a complete nutcase about that kind of thing?"

Tyler caught his breath before making a come-back. "Oh I don't know….maybe the fact that she's….your roommate?"

Nick panted out. "She looks so beautiful when she's mad." He had a slight smile on his face. "But I'm not going near her for a while. Let's try this again tomorrow, when she isn't trying to kill us."

The other two teens nodded quickly in agreement, and parted from Nick, who dashed through the woods to make it safely to the Ra Dorm. That left Tyler and Violet standing there, catching their breath from the chase. Tyler sat on the ground and leaned back on his hands. "Man, I don't think I've ever been that scared in my life."

'_Well except that one time where Sipher had me cornered and…'_

"…..n't work! I was so sure. Hey are you listening?" the brunette stated.

The black haired boy shook his head and said, "Huh? Oh yeah. Something about not working and stuff, right? Told you I had better advice."

"Your advice involved a tuxedo, limos, roses and a trip to Paris." She rolled her eyes.

"Which would have worked!"

"Yeah, sure if it didn't cost, like 100,000 dollars!"

"Eh, semantics." Tyler waved his hand. "Besides, there's always tomorrow."

Violet sighed. "Yeah I guess. But not getting it on the first go is kind of annoying since I was so sure it would work. Seriously, who would have thought her berserk button was Shakespeare quotes!"

He laughed. "Yeah, did you hear her? 'You dare mock the lines written by one of the masters! You wouldn't even understand the subtext in which the context was used if it were repeated in perfect iambic pentameter to your face!' …Or whatever it was she said. You literary nuts make no sense to me."

"Hey, don't bunk me in with her, the school already did that. The least we can be grateful for in this is that she isn't one of those elitist snobs who think she's better just because she's in Obelisk. Problem is she's an elitist snob because she can back up the big talk."

This gave Tyler a stroke of genius. "That's it! We'll just show her that Nick isn't someone to be pushed around! We'll show her a side to Nick you can only see when he's in the zone! We'll have him win her over in a duel!"

"What are you saying now?"

Tyler jumped to her face and began talking excitedly. "Yeah! Just think about it, what's the best way to impress a girl like Amelia? Beat her in a duel! If Nick can reveal his true power, there's no way on Earth she won't fall for him!"

"You keep saying stuff like that but it never works." Violet replied. "Even if it were that easy, Amelia is crazy strong. Most Obelisk students get in because they're rich, but there are those who get in on pure skill. Amelia is definitely skilled. I've seen her duel, and she's _merciless._"

"What does she run?"

Violet simply said, "Ice Barriers. They focus on locking down your opponent, and not in the same way a Jinzo and a Spell Canceller lock them down. They lock you down with force. Not to make a pun or anything, but their effects are meant to completely freeze your strategy until you can't do anything but give up."

Tyler grinned. "Do you remember my duel with Nick?"

She looked a bit confused. "No, I went back to grab some more food, I missed all but the end where you hit him with a black-colored dragon."

"You went back to eat some more?" Tyler exclaimed. "Never mind, basically Nick seems to have a card for any situation. When all his monsters were too weak to stop mine and he was limited on his card choices, he pulled off one of the hugest reversals I have ever seen and almost lost for it." Tyler shook his head. "I bet the only reason he didn't get into Obelisk was because he didn't have the connections. Which begs the question, how did _you_ get in Blue? Nors isn't some famous name that I can remember."

"I studied at a cram school and received several recommendations from teachers to the school praising my ability." Violet smiled confidently.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. Yeah I just came from a small town and by luck made it here." Tyler smiled. "My mom was so happy I got in, she threw a party for me and everything." Tyler laughed. "It was so much fun I stayed up late and slept in and almost missed the boat."

"That sounds like you alright."

"Hey, you barely know me!" Tyler smiled. "But hey, if you can already tell that much about me, then I think I've started to grow on you."

Violet glared at him. "Don't get so smug, I was just making an observation." She crossed her arms and turned away from Tyler. "Look, if you really think this will work then PM me tomorrow on my PDA, alright? My username is Wonder_Magician, and don't you laugh!" She turned around to point at him, the beginnings of a smile already turning the corner of his mouth.

"Alright, alright." He held up his hands in defense. "I'll tell Nick about it later today and I'll PM to the details tomorrow morning, ok?"

"Okay." Violet nodded, and then helped Tyler stand. With a quick farewell, they parted for their respective dorms.

___ The Next Day… __

"So why are we here again?" Nick asked both Tyler and Violet as they stood in a clearing in the woods, just off the path to the Obelisk Girls Dorm.

Tyler spoke up. "Like I said, you are going to duel Amelia, win and capture her heart."

Nick looked at him like he was crazy. "WHAT! Are you joking? She's the best of the best!"

"Look, we've already asked her to come out here. There's no turning back from this point." Violet spoke. "Either you man up and do this, or you skulk away like a little coward."

Nick gulped. She made a damn good argument. "O-Okay. When is she gonna be here?"

"I already am." A voice stated a few feet away from the three teens. Amelia stood there, with a fierce gaze in her blue eyes. "My roommate here told me someone was seeking to 'capture my heart in a duel'. So which one of you wants to face my wrath?"

Nick shakily answered. "M-Me. I want to-to…." He couldn't finish, but at that point, Amelia recognized him.

"It's you. You who used words written by Shakespeare." She turned angry again. "You shall see what happens when you upset me. Get ready." Her duel disk flickered to life and opened up, the automated shuffler installed in the Blue dorm disks ruffled her cards around at an impossible speed.

Nick steeled himself. His duel disk opened up as Tyler and Violet walked off to the side to view the duel. "I think I'll let the lady go first." He said.

"Fine then." As they both drew into their starting hands, they both cried out "Duel!"

NS: 4000

AC: 4000

"My draw!" the blue-haired teen drew. "I'll summon out my Samurai of the Ice Barrier (1800/1500) in attack mode." A samurai clad in icy blue armor appeared, his sword at the ready. "Your move."

"Alright, I draw." Nick declared as he drew his sixth card. "I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Worm Call." He placed the card into the slot on his disk and it appeared in front of him and rose up thanks to the Solid Vision. "With this on the field, once per turn while you control a monster and I don't, I can Special Summon one Worm monster in facedown defense mode." He placed the reversed card in a monster card zone on his duel disk; the giant card appeared on his field, horizontal.

"Now I'll set one monster and one card facedown." Two more reversed cards appeared. "Your move." He swallowed. He sort of hoped this worked, but he was shaking down in his shoes. Violet had said her strategy was merciless. What did that mean?

"My turn." Amelia declared. "By switching my Samurai to defense mode, I can destroy him to draw an extra card." As she drew her card, the samurai committed seppuku by slicing his stomach open with his blade, then carving it up into his own heart. As he shattered, the blue-haired teen continued her move. "Since you have four more cards on the field then I do, I can Special Summon my Medium of the Ice Barrier in attack mode. (2200/1600)"

A beautiful woman with sea foam green hair and a blue dress appeared. She seemed to glow a soft, light blue light. "As long as my Medium is face up on the field, you can only activate one Spell or Trap per turn." Amelia explained. "Next, I'll Normal Summon out Strategist of the Ice Barrier (1600/1600) in attack mode."

An old man in long, deep blue robes appeared. He was holding a piece of paper in one hand. "Once per turn, I can discard one Ice Barrier monster to draw one card thanks to my Strategists' effect!" She sent General Gantala of the Ice Barrier to the grave and drew one card. "Now my Medium will attack the monster you special summoned on your turn! _Chilling Blast!_" The Medium unleashed a fierce gale of wind and the monster.

"Sorry to say this, but you just attacked my Worm Noble (1500/2400)!" The monster flipped up to reveal a fierce looking monster, with stone shoulder pads, and leg guards, along with a freaky growth appearing from its back. The Worm braced itself from the attack, then seemed to shrug it off and start to gather energy in its back. "When he's flipped by an attack, half of your monster's ATK is dealt to you as damage on top of the Battle damage you took for battling a stronger monster!" Energy erupted from the monsters back and headed straight towards Amelia, who took it without flinching.

NS: 4000

AC: 2700

Amelia did not seem discouraged. "Strategist of the Ice Barrier, attack his other monster now!" The old man pulled a dagger out from his robes and threw it directly at the reversed monster card.

"You've activated the effect of my Worm Hope! When he's flipped up by battle, I'm allowed to draw an extra card!" The monster revealed to be a humanoid looking white blob creature, entirely different from his other Worm monster. "However, when he leaves the field, I have to discard one card." Nick did so as his Worm Hope shattered.

"After laying these two cards facedown, I end my turn." Two large virtual cards appeared in front of Amelia, as she finished. At this point, she had a slight field and hand advantage, with her Medium blocking multiple Spells and Traps from her opponent and her Strategist adding new cards to her hand as needed.

"My turn!" Nick said as he drew. "Wow, you really are strong Amelia. I hope I'm giving you a good run so far." Nick smiled weakly. The bluenette didn't respond and Nick became more unnerved. "A-Alright, I guess I'll just continue then." He placed a Spell card into his disk. "I activate my Spell card, the Shallow Grave. With this, we both can Special Summon one monster from our graves in facedown defense mode." Nick grabbed his Worm Hope and Amelia Set her General Gantala.

"Next, I'll set one monster, then end my turn." With the field containing 3 monsters on each side, Amelia began her next assault.

"My turn." She drew. "I'll flip summon the General Gantala of the Ice Barrier (2700/2000) you let me summon, then activate the effect of my Strategist of the Ice Barrier, discarding my General Raiho of the Ice Barrier to draw an extra card." The General looked intimidating, with his large frame and glowing hand of power. "Next, I will Release my Strategist to Advance Summon my Daisojou of the Ice Barrier in defense mode (1600/2200). With him on the field, you cannot destroy my Ice Barrier monsters with Spell and Trap effects." The Daisojou was a thin, skeletal figure dressed in similar attire to the Strategist, albeit with a nicer hat.

"Now my General Gantala will attack your Worm Noble! _Crushing Freeze!_" The built man used his glowing fist to punch the Worm monster into oblivion. "And as for my other monster, my Medium will attack your facedown Worm Hope you retrieved from your Spell card! _Chilling Blast!_" The humanoid white figure was once again shattered as his master drew a card, then chose another to send to his graveyard. Nick had to wonder why she had chosen to attack Worm hope when she knew he would get to draw a card. Then he thought that she could be playing it safe and attacking what she knew to be harmless to her strategy. Either way was fine by him at the moment.

"Now, during my End Phase, my Gantala activates his ability." The fierce monk placed his hand in the air, gathering energy. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Ice Barrier monster in my grave, so arise, General Raiho of the Ice Barrier! (2100/2300)" The monk slammed his fist into the ground, and from it he dragged up another General, this one clad in blue battle robes, wielding a fan made of ice. "As long as my Raiho is face-up on the field, when you resolve one of the effects of your monsters, you either discard one card, or let the whole effect go to waste."

From the sidelines, Tyler and Violet observed the duel. Tyler spoke up. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said merciless. In just two turns, she used all of Nick's plays against him, netting her one of the biggest advantages I think I've ever seen in a duel."

Violet nodded in agreement. "Right. With her General Gantala, she can continue to revive her Ice Barriers, with Daisojou she's protected from Spells and Traps, with Medium, Nick is limited with his own cards and finally that Raiho is screwing up Nick's monster effects. She really does deserve the title 'Frozen Queen of Obelisk'."

Tyler nodded back. "And Nick's monster effects are the key ingredient in his combos. Wait, she's nicknamed the 'Frozen Queen of Obelisk'? Who came up with that?"

Violet shrugged. "I don't know, I just heard her being called that. But her dueling style is really aggressive. Look, she's already got control of the duel in such a short time, and she's barely burned through her hand."

Nick had overheard some of this and yelled out, "Not helping guys!" Then he turned back to Amelia. "Alright, my move!" Nick thought to himself as he looked over his cards. _'C'mon, you can't show her you're weak! You need to show her you're strong! No backing down! She wants to fight me with force, well bring it on!'_

"I Release my facedown Worm Ugly to Advance Summon my Worm King! (2700/1100)" The King of Worms arose from the field, his green, slimy skin reflecting the sun, his four legs trampling the Earth. He was huge, standing at nearly 3 stories tall. "Now the effect of my Worm Ugly activates! When I use him as a Tribute for a Worm monster, I can Special Summon him to your side of the field!" Nick discarded the card to resolve the effect successfully due to Raiho's ability. The white orb appeared, holding true to its name of Ugly, on Amelia's field among her other monsters, who all seemed to look at the monster in disgust.

"Next, I'll play my Spell card, Card of Demise! Letting me draw cards until my hand is at 5! Then, 5 turns later, my entire hand is sent to the graveyard." Fortunately, Nick had timed it so he had played it when he had no cards left in his hand. When his hand was at full, he declared his next move. "I activate my Worm King's ability! By Releasing one Worm monster, I can destroy one card you control!"

Amelia grew confused, "But you don't have any other Worm monsters. Unless you suddenly decided to get rid of your only monster?" Then she snapped her head at the white blob on her field. "Wait…"

Nick smirked at her reaction. "That's right! Who said the Worm had to be on my field! Go Worm King! Use your _Royal Command_ to destroy that Medium!" The Worm King commanded Worm Ugly to suicide itself into the Medium using their creepy Worm language that consisted of clicks and snarls. The blob crashed itself into the Medium, who looked revolted just before she was destroyed. However, Nick discarded his card, due to the effect of Raiho.

"Now I'm not limited to one Spell and Trap card per turn! So I activate my Spell, Worm Gathering!" He placed the card into his disk. It depicted the hive mind, Worm Zero surrounded by several of its Worm offspring, notably Worms King, Queen, Prince and Noble. "By returning three Worms in my graveyard to my deck, I can draw two cards!" Nick returned his Worm Noble, Worm Ugly and Worm Hope, then shuffled his deck manually and drew two cards. "Now I activate my Trap card! Reveal, Army of Worms!" The card depicted Worm King and Worm Queen ordering Worm Dimikles, Worm Rakuyeh and Worm Cartaros to battle. "While I control a face-up Worm King or Worm Queen, I can Special Summon 2 Worm monsters from my deck in either face up attack or facedown defense!" He summoned his two monsters. One of them was facedown, but the other was a blue monstrosity with spikes all over its body. "I Set my Worm Linx and Summon my Worm Illidan! (2000/1800)"

Finally, Nick was getting a bit more leeway in the duel. "Now I usually use this card on my own monsters, but this time I think I'll make an exception." He placed the card in his duel disk. "I activate Book of Moon to flip your General Raiho facedown for the turn! Your Daisojou may protect them from destruction, but that doesn't mean he protects them from ALL Spells and Traps!" A blue book appeared with a crescent moon on the cover. It opened up and shone a light directly at the robed General. He suddenly became a reversed card.

Tyler cheered from the sidelines. "Alright! Now Nick can use his monster effects without paying a cost! Great job!" He turned to Violet. "You know, I'm the one that taught him that." He smiled.

Nick shouted out, "No you didn't! I just realized after our duel if I had used it on your monster instead of my own I would have won!"

Tyler shrugged. "Semantics."

Nick just turned back to his duel. "And now with your Raiho facedown, I can set these two cards facedown, which activates the effect of my Worm Illidan! For each card set he gets one Worm counter." Two counters appeared on Illidan's body that looked like miniature versions of Worm Ugly. "Now, by removing 2 counters from him, I can destroy your one card on your field, like your Daisojou!"

The two Worm counters launched off of Illidan's body and crashed into the skeletal figure, shattering him. Now, all that was left of Amelia's field were her two untouched facedowns, a facedown Raiho and Gantala. "Now I enter my Battle Phase! Worm King, crush that facedown Raiho now! _Royal Pressure_! The monster rushed up and stomped onto the General, shattering it easily. Now I activate the effect of the Worm Alpha in m hand! By discarding him to the grave, I can add 1000 ATK points to one of my Worm monsters! So rise up Worm Illidan (2000/1800 - 3000/1800) to break apart that Gantala!"

The spiked Worm suddenly turned a deep red as the Worm Alpha virus kicked in, raising its power. He rushed into the General and obliterated it, dealing damage to Amelia, who had been silent all throughout Nick's reversal turn. Worm Alpha appeared as a small, red fish-like creature akin to a goldfish. A crimson colored goldfish with razor-sharp teeth and spiked fins mind you.

NS: 4000

AC: 2400

"However, during the End Phase I use my Worm Alpha to empower a Worm, that Worm is destroyed, but before that's gonna happen, I use my Worm King's _Royal Command_ to order Illidan to destroy your facedown card!" Worm King used the Worm language again to order his servant to destroy Amelia's card. It had been Crystal Dream, a Counter Trap that was useless without a certain field spell.

"Turn end." Nick finished smiling confidently. In one turn he had turned a serious disadvantage into one big advantage.

"Alright, way to play Nick! You're way strong! Pretty soon you might be recommended by a teacher for Obelisk Dorm!" Tyler yelled praise at his small friend. "How do you like that Ms. Tall Blue and Fierce?" Tyler directed his last statement towards Amelia who merely looked at him with cold eyes. She had been silent throughout all of Nick's turn, a fact that Tyler looked back on with a small amount of discomfort. A reversal like that should have produced a reaction from ordinary duelists.

Was Amelia as cold as her Ice Barrier monsters? Did she even have the capacity to feel emotions other than harsh fury? Would Nick's love remain unrequited? Tyler gulped at these questions, the answer to any of these questions being 'Yes' was a deadly fact.

"I will admit, it does take some skill to pull off a move like that, but it takes more than a few lucky cards to get into the dorm of the elite." She drew a harsh tone.

Nick voiced himself. "A-Amelia. The reason for this duel… is so that I can show you my power. I want to be someone you see as worthy. That is why I want to win this duel! To show you my resolve!"

"Then show me." Amelia harshly intoned as she drew the card that started her turn. "I will activate the Continuous Spell card Water Hazard, and it is very similar to your own Worm Call as while you have monsters and I don't, I can Special Summon one WATER attribute monster from my hand to the field. So arise, Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier in defense mode!" (200/1600) A pale man with twin swords and a robe appeared, bearing an aura of fierce determination. "Now I activate my Spell card, Spellbook Inside the Pot, allowing us to both draw three cards." Both teens did so.

"Next comes my Trap card, Frozen Miracle. With this, I can Special Summon one Ice Barrier monster in my graveyard, such as General Gantala." The fierce monk appeared once more, his hand glowing as brightly as ever. And now that I control two Ice Barrier monsters, my Secret Guards prevent you from targeting them with monster effects. So I enter my Battle Phase and attack your Worm King! _Crushing Freeze!_" The monk charged the monstrous Worm King and slammed into it as hard as he could, while the Worm King swiped at his monster. However, the General made it out unscathed.

"Wait a second! Your General and my King had the same attack power! Why was your monster spared!" Nick exclaimed at the loss of his King. Amelia coolly explained the reason.

"The monster summoned by Frozen Miracle has his effect negated, but in return, once per turn he is not destroyed in battle." Amelia continued, and said, "Now I'll Set one card and end my turn."

"My turn, draw!" Nick drew his next card. "I'll Flip Summon my Worm Linx! (300/1000) Now during each player's End Phase, I can draw one extra card! Next I'll summon my Worm Xex (1800/1000) in attack mode!" The Worm appeared next to Linx. Linx appeared as a two-headed red bug-like creature, while Xex appeared as a green 'X' with a mouth and eyes. "When Worm Xex is Normal Summoned, I can send one Worm monster from my deck to my graveyard! I'll send Worm Queen to the grave!" The spirit of the Worm Queen appeared; it looked like a sleeker version of Worm King, with grey skin rather than slime-green.

"And to finish this combo off, I activate my facedown Spell Final Light! By paying 1000 life points, I can Special Summon one LIGHT monster in my graveyard, like Worm King!" The lord of the Worms once more appeared to the field. "However, you are also allowed to Special Summon one monster to your side of the field with an attack of 2000 or less."

NS: 3000

AC: 2400

Amelia had opted to revive her Daisojou of the Ice Barrier in defense mode, the skeletal figure taking a defensive stance. "With my Worm Xex, I blast your Secret Guards with _X-Buster_!" The green X-shaped monster let loose a green blast of energy in the shape of an 'X' straight into the Secret Guards.

"This activates my Trap card. Tidal Wave." Amelia spoke coldly, her arm outstretched over her revealed trap. "When a WATER monster on my field is destroyed by battle or by card effect, I can destroy one card on your side of the field, such as your Worm King."

A wall of water appeared with the intent to crush the commander of Worms, but Nick held different intentions. "Sorry babe, but by discarding Worm Beta from my hand, one Worm monster isn't destroyed by a card effect this turn!" The Worm Beta appeared as a winged animal of sorts, with various spikes erupting from its back. It was a soft blue hue. A hue which the Worm King itself took on as it defended itself using the Worm Beta vaccine. "And now my Worm King attacks your Daisojou with _Royal Pressure_!"

Tyler sweatdropped from the sidelines. _'Did Nick just call her 'babe'? Please tell me she didn't hear that…' _He turned towards the Obelisk girl, whose expression did not change in the slightest as her Daisojou was pummeled by Nick's Worm King.

"And with the end of my Battle Phase, I activate Worm King's effect to Release my Worm Xex to destroy your Gantala! _Royal Command_!" Once more, the Worm King spoke in an alternate language to order the X monster to suicide bomb the large monk. The monk tried to bare the assault, but he was engulfed and destroyed.

"Now, I place one card facedown, ending my turn, which activates my Worm Linx's ability to let me draw one card." Nick finished, with his field full of cards and Amelia left empty other than her Water Hazard card.

Amelia began her turn by drawing, putting her hand at four cards. "I will activate the effect of my Water Hazard Spell to Special Summon my Shock Troops of the Ice Barrier (1500/800) to the field in defense mode." A warrior clad in light blue robes like that of all other Ice Barrier monsters appeared, wielding a bladed staff of ice. "Then I activate my Ice Mirror Spell card which lets me Special Summon another copy of one level three or lower WATER monster on my field." She placed the spell into her duel disk, and a virtual mirror appeared, reflecting the Shock Troops. Soon the reflection became the real thing as more Shock Troops appeared.

"Next I activate my Spell card, Giant Trunade. This returns all Spells and Traps on the field to our hands." A large, green tornado appeared and swept up Amelia's Water Hazard and Nick's facedown Pixie Ring, a trap that would have prevented Amelia from attacking Nick's weak Worm Linx. "Now I activate the effect of my Shock Troops. By releasing him and destroying one WATER monster on my field, I can add one Ice Barrier monster from my Deck to my hand." The soldier sacrificed himself along with the other to let Amelia add Safeguard of the Ice Barrier from her Deck to her hand.

"Now I re-activate my Water Hazard, and use it Special Summon my Safeguard of the Ice Barrier in defense mode. (200/1600)" A fierce, yellow wolf appeared, with shards of ice sticking out of its tail. "Next, I'll play Card of Sanctity, letting both of us draw until we hold six cards in our hands." Both teens drew cards until they held six, however Nick held many cards in his hand before the spell was played, so he drew a minimal amount of cards in comparison to Amelia, who drew a full six. "And now I activate my Spell card, Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier. With this, I reveal three Ice Barrier monsters in my hand with different names to destroy one card you control and Special Summon one of them."

Nick gulped. There was no way she had three Ice Barriers with different names in her hand, right? Really, she had gone through so much already. But Nick's heart sunk as he saw Amelia reveal a second Samurai of the Ice Barrier, General Grunard of the Ice Barrier and Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier. They appeared in a triangle formation with Grunard at the point. Nick's Worm King shattered in a glorious shower of ice shards, leaving Worm Linx defenseless. Nick grew wide-eyed.

The blue haired Obelisk girl Special Summoned her General Grunard, a fierce knight of the frozen tundra. (2800/1000) "Next, I Normal Summon out my Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier in attack mode (1200/2000)." A young maiden appeared with a red skirt, wielding a staff. "Now I tune my level 4 Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier with my level 3 Safeguard of the Ice Barrier." The fox and the maiden lifted up into the air, as the fox transformed into three rings of green light, and the Spellbreaker passed through, becoming a set of four shining white stars.

"_When freezing winds unite, they pierce those unwilling to reveal their hearts' desires. Synchro Summon. Freeze their souls, Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier."_

The majestic blue dragon appeared with a roar. Its wings were sharpened to thin edges and its claws glistened like icicles. (2500/1700) The two monsters were a fearsome duo that looked upon Nick's field with a harsh gaze. All in all, Tyler had to admit it was a pretty impressive dragon. Even if it did signal the defeat of his friend.

Amelia continued, "And with my Grunard's effect, I can Normal Summon one extra Ice Barrier monster each turn, and with it, I Normal Summon my second Samurai of the Ice Barrier." The knight waved his sword out, and from the Solid Vision, leapt the Samurai, ready to do battle once more.

"It ends this turn. I attack your Worm with my Samurai. _Bushido Break_!" The Samurai mercilessly sliced the Worm in two.

NS: 1500

AC: 2400

"Now my General and Dragon, finish this with _Cryoblade _and_ Sheer Freeze_!" The tag-team of warrior and dragon rushed the defenseless boy and tore into him fiercely. He stood no chance against the onslaught.

NS: 0

AC: 2400

Nick sunk to his knees in defeat. He couldn't show her his power. _'Dammit.'_

Amelia walked over to her defeated opponent and spoke. "If you had truly wanted to show me your resolve, then you would have shown me your true power. I await a rematch." She turned and walked off back to her dorm room. Nick just sat there silently, and to Tyler, the worst thing about it all, was that he had no idea what to say.

Card Database:

Worm Alpha – LIGHT – Lv 1 – Reptile/Effect – You can discard this card to add 1000 ATK to one face-up Worm monster you control. The monster targeted by this effect is destroyed during the End Phase. This effect can be activated during either players turn. (0/0)

Worm Beta – LIGHT – Lv 1 – Reptile/Effect – Activate only when one Worm monster you control is targeted by a card effect. Discard this card to negate that card and destroy it. (0/0)

Worm Gathering – Normal Spell – Return 3 Reptile-type Worm monsters from your graveyard to your Deck and shuffle. Draw 2 cards.

Army of Worms – Normal Trap – Activate only while you control a face-up Worm King or Worm Queen. Special Summon two Reptile-type Worm monsters from your deck in wither face-up attack position or facedown defense position.

Tidal Wave – Normal Trap – Activate only when a WATER attribute monster on your side of the field is destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Destroy one card your opponent controls.

Frozen Miracle – Continuous Trap – When this card is activated, Special Summon one Ice Barrier monster in your graveyard. Its effect(s) is negated. When that monster is removed from the field, this card is destroyed. If this card is removed from the field, that monster is destroyed. Once per turn, if the monster Special Summoned by this effect would be destroyed in battle, it is not (damage calculation is applied normally).

Dark: So yeah….. How bout them duels? *laughs nervously*

Jack: *eye twitching* you're late.

Manjoume: Very late.

Kaiba: So beyond late, that if it was any later it would actually circle around and make it early. Which in that case it would STILL be late.

Dark: …But, that doesn't make any sense.

Kaiba: That doesn't change the fact that you were late with this chapter.

Dark: Fine I apologize for my lateness. *bows* Things happened and I lost my mojo for a while. Sue me. Oh wait, you can't sue me because I'm not making money outta this!

Jack: NO EXCUSES! You best try to actually start keeping a schedule or else I'll sick my Scar-Red Nova Dragon after you!

Dark: No Jack! Okay, okay! I'll get with the program, geez. But in return, you and Kaiba do the Featured Card!

Jack: Accepted! This chapter's cards are Frozen Miracle, Worm King, Worm Linx, General Gantala of the Ice Barrier, and Tidal Wave!

Kaiba: Obviously the highlighter of the duel was Worm King! With its massively powerful effect, when combined with Nick's strategies create many possibilities for him to get out of a bad situation!

Dark: Alright that's out show for today!

Tune in next time as strange happenings are going on around the school! It all begins with Tyler joining the Disciplinary Committee…

Next Time on Yugioh!: Six Scions! With Great Power Comes Great Trouble!


	7. Chapter 6: A Little Discipline

Dark: So another chapter is here and now you can rejoice!

Kaiba, Jack and Manjoume: *sarcastically* Yaaaaay.

Dark: Don't be such jerks to me; I control your current fate in this story.

Kaiba: It's not like we're actually _in_ the story, just in these little openings that have very little bearing on the plot.

Dark: Still, you can at least pretend to be happy you're here. One of my friends loves these scenes I do with you guys.

Manjoume: Well this scene is turning out sucky! Do it better!

Dark: I'm starting to run out of ideas here! Deal with it or do something funny yourself! Start the show!

Chapter 6: A Little Discipline Goes a Long Way

After the fiasco involving Amelia, Nick had been distraught for nearly a whole week, barely talking to Tyler or Violet or any of his other friends. It took a lot of coaxing from Adam and Tyler to bring him out of his funk. In fact, it took an entire three-way duel between the boys to snap him out of it. It was during the climax, there was a standoff between their three big monsters, Tyrant Dragon, Worm King and Naturia Exterio when Nick actually smiled at himself for getting so far in the duel, then proceeded to outlast both contenders and stand as the victor. His confidence restored, he made a secret resolution to himself.

That was the way of the Academy, if there was a problem, duel it out, winner take all. In Tyler's mind, there wasn't much a good duel couldn't solve. And that was why he was here, in front of the headquarters for the School Disciplinary Committee. It was after classes had ended for the day that Tyler decided to join after serious thought.

'_I want to help this school become a better place! Not just for Slifer students, but for everybody!' _He remembered his own words to Violet as he walked towards the room. He knew the real reason he was doing this, but that didn't make his words to the brunette any less true. It was down the hall from the main dueling arena, and was easy to find, what with it having a crudely written note on the door.

He knocked on the door and waited a moment, before someone answered. It had just so happened to be Allen to open the door.

Tyler smiled and raised his hand in a greeting. "Hey Al- "

"No." SLAM! Allen had pretty much figured out why he was there and flat-out rejected him. To his face. With a slamming door.

"Ouch." Tyler muttered. He knocked again with more force and caught the door as it swung forward. "Is that any way to treat your friend?" Tyler asked mockingly.

"Never said you were my friend. I would consider us acquaintances at best." Allen responded.

"Oh come on. Why can't I join?"

"You're too irrational, you don't think with your head, you let your emotions get the best of you, you don't possess enough skill, and to top it off, I know you." Allen stated calmly, still trying to get the door shut. "Need I go on?"

"Can't I get one shot at least? I did help you with Vic and them that one time. It was me that inspired them to go back to class." Tyler responded, using all his might to hold the door open so Allen wouldn't slam it in his face again. "You owe me."

"I only let you come because I was supposed to let you. If it weren't for the Vic thing, Chapter 4 would have been very boring." Allen said. "Besides, we already got somebody trying out and we really don't need more recruits."

Allen was shooting down all of Tyler's responses with ease. "Wouldn't it be better to have two more people though? You know, the more the merrier and all?"

"Normally, but when a rookie shows up, we need to train them. And we really don't want to train more people."

"Oh come on! Let the kid in Al!" A voice inside the room called. "I'm the Captain of this team, so I say we give him a shot! Especially if he annoys you this much!" Allen grumbled back at the voice.

"But I know this guy! He just wouldn't work right!" Allen was practically pleading now. If this was someone who could make Allen complain then this was someone Tyler had to meet.

Reluctantly, Allen stepped back and allowed Tyler to swing the door open, then stood aside to let him in. Tyler gave him a mocking smile before walking inside. Really, the room was fairly normal, but what could he expect? It had a long table, presumably enough for about four or five on each side and one on each end, a desk with a computer on it, along with a small plaque which read **Captain Daggirz**.

Standing beside the table was a man wearing an Obelisk blazer, and his arms crossed and a wide, toothy grin on his face. He was a bit taller than Tyler and about as tall as Allen, with scraggy black hair and a defiant look in his eye. Beside him stood a calm and collected woman in an Obelisk blazer, with short, light blue hair and calm red eyes, which Tyler took note of. "So you're the guy who bugs Al here enough to reject you to your face right from the get go!" He laughed. "I'm Hunter Daggirz, Captain of the Committee." He held out his hand, which Tyler accepted in a firm handshake.

"Tyler?" A voice behind the two called out. The dragon duelist looked behind the leader and the woman and saw a head of light green hair.

"Zephyr?" Tyler responded in kind. "So you're the other guy that wants to join?"

The green-haired boy nodded. "Yeah, I thought it might be fun to bust some bad guys and stop heinous acts in school!" He struck a heroic pose. "Zephyr Winston! Hero to the Academy!"

Tyler smiled, trying to hold back laughter. "Wow, that's pretty over-the-top. You sure this is the right job for you? You might be better off in Drama Club!" Tyler laughed, half-joking and half-serious, because Zephyr not wanting to join the Committee would take away some of Allen's ammo on why to reject him. Inside, he chastised himself for acting selfish, but he countered back that he couldn't help it.

"Nah." Zephyr waved him off. "Drama just wouldn't offer the same thrills as these guys would." He looked upon them with adoration, the three members, Allen, Hunter and the girl.

Tyler also looked at the three. "So are there only the three of you?" He asked.

Hunter replied, "Yep, just me, Al and Null." He gestured towards the red-eyed girl, who addressed Tyler.

"My name is Nullita Soffiare." She gave him a warm smile, to which Tyler reacted with a slight blush.

"Y-Yeah, I'm Tyler Verano." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "That's a pretty exotic name you have."

"My parents were…..a little eccentric." She noted with a soft tone. "It's supposed to be foreign, but I never bothered to look it up." Nullita gave an air of serenity and soothing, which did not escape Tyler. "Oh I remember you! You came in with Allen a couple of weeks ago with Vic and pals."

"Yeah, I didn't get a chance to get names and stuff, was kinda lost in thought. Like I kinda just skipped everything that happened and I didn't remember anything about it."

"So you said you wanted to be a part of out little club huh?"

"Null!" Hunter whined, "I told you to stop calling it a club! We are the Duel Academy Mach Disciplinary Committee! Not just some club! See," He opened the door and pointed at the crude, paper sign taped on the door. "It even says right here! Co-mmi-ttee!"

Tyler chuckled a bit. He could already tell the roles the three filled in their little group. Hunter was the hothead, Allen was the snarker, and Nullita filled the mediator role. He could already see him and Hunter getting along, what with annoying Allen, and both being the hotheads of their respective groups.

Allen had watched this whole scene with a look of annoyance on his face. _'Geez, what am I doing with these people?' _"Hunter, I really don't think this guy is right for the Committee. I know him, he's irresponsible, and he isn't really the type to keep himself in check, he-

Hunter held up a hand to silence him. "Allen, you can't have known this kid for that long because I've known you for years now and I think I would know him if you knew him as long as you think you do. As it stands now, I don't know him and Null doesn't know him so we have to give him the benefit of the doubt and actually give him a chance." And with those words, Hunter completely silenced any further protests from Allen.

"So you'll give me a shot?" Tyler asked Hunter.

The captain turned to the Slifer student and smiled. "Yup! We'll give you your chance! So don't blow it! Or else I'll never hear the end of it from Al..."

"Hey, I don't act that petty, do I?" The Ra turned towards the blue-haired girl. "Do I?"

"I choose to withhold my opinion." She giggled and turned away from Allen.

Tyler cheered as Zephyr requested a high five for his success. As the skin of the two Slifers met, Allen spoke out, "But really, are we sure both of these guys can handle the job? I mean, do you think they're up to our level?"

Hunter turned around to Allen. "Well why not a little test?" He challenged. "If they pass, then you have to accept them, no more arguing. No pass, no join? Sound good? You can even pick the test!" Hunter grinned at Allen, who was seriously contemplating it.

Tyler turned to Zephyr, "Whatever it is we can take it! Right?"

"Right." The two nodded to each other then turned back to Allen as he made his decision.

"A tag duel. Hunter and Nullita versus Tyler and New Guy." The green-haired Ra student declared, as if issuing a final proclamation. "By the way, New Guy, what was your name again?"

Zephyr grinned. "My name was Zephyr Winston, Hero to the Academy!" He struck a heroic pose again, this time Tyler joining him with his own declaration.

"And Tyler Verano, Protector of the Weak!" The scene proved too much for Hunter as he began to laugh heartily.

"I like these guys! Alright, if they can impress us in a duel, they're in! Allen, consider your deal met!" He shook hands with the man, sealing the deal, binding both men to honor their words. "We'll do this in the main dueling hall! Seeing as we have permission to use it whenever, it would make a fitting stage for our new recruits!"

As the crew headed over to the arena, Tyler turned to Zephyr to discuss strategy. "So about your cards…Do they have any synergy with Dragons? Because that's basically my whole deck."

Zephyr laughed. "Oh yeah, they have Dragon synergy alright! Don't worry. If you can keep up with me, I think we'll do just fine." He looked forward as he and Tyler entered the main dueling hall, the same dueling hall in which Tyler first faced Allen. However, without the dividers setting the arena into separate dueling fields, Tyler was given a new sense of scale as he viewed the large arena.

Tyler and Zephyr stood on one end, while Hunter and Nullita stood at the other and Allen stood at the edge of the arena.

"Now I want you guys to know," Hunter stated, "We're not gonna hold back just because we like you guys!"

Tyler and Zephyr smirked. "We wouldn't want it any other way." Tyler replied.

All four raised their duel disks and shouted "Duel!"

Tyler and Zephyr: 8000

Hunter and Nullita: 8000

"I think I'll take the first move." Hunter announced with his sixth draw. "I'll start by summoning Infernity Archfiend in attack mode." A purple demon arose from smoke, with an elaborate head décor. (1800/1200) "And with three cards facedown, I'll finish my turn. Show me your moves!"

Zephyr gulped a bit. He had heard of Infernity monsters. They were powerful, yet risky cards that relied on the user to run without a card in their hand. Such a dangerous deck type, but one that could ultimately spell doom for the opposition. He looked over at his partner, who was grinning in excitement. Oh well, if his partner didn't care about them, why should he?

Tyler declared his turn. "Next up is me! Draw!" He looked over his cards for a moment, before starting with a classic. "I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode!" (1900/1600) The sapphire dragon appeared, its scales glittering beautifully in the light. "Next I'll set one card to finish my turn!" During a Tag Duel, no player can attack until everyone has had a move, which in this case allows Zephyr to have the first battle phase of the duel.

"My turn." The bluenette declared as she drew. "I'll summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World in attack mode." (1800/400) A manic-looking demon appeared on the field wearing bronze plated armor and had strings tied to his fingers, as if he were a depraved puppet master. "And with this one card, I will end my move." She finished calmly as the facedown appeared behind the demon.

Zephyr was up, and he was the first one allowed to attack. "Looks like I'm up!" He declared as he drew. "I'll start by activating my field spell! Dragon Canyon!" He placed the spell into the special card slot on the disks that popped out whenever the need arose. The field took on the appearance of a large canyon, the rock walls scaled up towards the ceiling. "I activate my field's effect! Once per turn, I can discard one card to activate one of its two abilities! I'll start by discarding Dragunity Corsesca in order to add Dragunity Phalanx to my hand!" He placed the card into his grave slot, then a card popped out from the middle of his deck and Zephyr placed it into his hand after revealing it.

"Next up comes my spell card, Cards of Consonance! With this, I discard one Dragon tuner with 1000 or less attack and draw two cards!" Zephyr smirked as he placed his recently acquired Phalanx into his graveyard, and then drew two cards. "Next up is my pal Dragunity Dux in attack mode!" (1500/1000) A winged humanoid appeared on Zephyrs field with a gust of wind. "And his effect activates, that lets me equip him with one Dragunity monster in my graveyard! Like Dragunity Corsesca!"

The Dragon appeared from the grave, and transformed into a long, polearm type-type weapon with three blades on the end, which the winged beast wielded. "Now attack that Infernity Archfiend! _Cyclone Spearing_!" The winged man lunged at the demonic monster with intent.

"What are you doing?" Hunter asked. "Your monster has lower attack points!" Zephyr smirked at this.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I forget to mention? For every Dragunity card on the field, Dux gains 200 attack points!" (1500/1000 - 1900/1000)

Hunter grimaced, but waved out his hand, "I activate my facedown Infernity Inferno! With this, I can discard two cards in my hand to send two Infernity monsters from my deck to my grave!" Hunter had successfully emptied out his hand, as he slid the cards into his graveyard as the demon was impaled.

T and Z: 8000

H and N: 7900

Then Hunter declared his next effect. "I activate the effect of the Infernity Avenger I sent to the grave with Infernity Inferno! When an Infernity monster I control is destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon it from the graveyard as long as I have no cards in my hand!" A second demon appeared, this time in western attire, and dual-wielding guns. (0/0)

"0 attack and defense points?" Tyler wondered. "Well, at least he's field presence."

Hunter smirked, "Not only that, but his level also becomes equal to that of the monster destroyed!" (Level 1 - Level 4) A single star appeared above the monster, representing his level, then suddenly Infernity Archfiend appeared as a phantom, and inherited his power to his archetypal brother and increased the number of stars to four.

"Well, that could pose a problem, but I activate my effect now!" Zephyr declared. "When a monster equipped with Dragunity Corsesca destroys a monster by battle, I can add one monster from my deck to my hand that's Level 4 or lower and shares a type and attribute with the equipped monster! So I add a second Dragunity Dux to my hand!" The card slid out from his deck, and he grabbed it.

"Well, not all my effects are over! See, I activate my trap card, The Afterglow of a Miracle! With this, I can Special Summon one monster destroyed in battle this turn! So revive Infernity Archfiend!" The purple demon once more arose from his cloud of smoke, but this time, he pulsated with a dark energy.

"And unfortunately for you, this activates the effect of my Archfiend. When he's Special Summoned to the field while my hand is cardless, I can add one Infernity card form my deck to my hand!" He picked up one card. "I choose Infernity Launcher!"

Zephyr grimaced as he played right into the hands of his opponent. "I'll finish my turn with this facedown card." A large virtual card appeared behind the Dragunity monster. "And that'll do it."

"My move again, draw!" Hunter picked up the top card of his deck. "I'll activate the Launcher that you so kindly allowed me to grab." A large cannon like object appeared on Hunters field. "And now I normal summon my Infernity Reloader in attack mode!" (900/0) This time, the monster that appeared looked like a two-sided gun with a demon head popped up in the center. "And now I activate the effect of my Reloader here: each turn I can draw one card as long as my hand is at zero, and if I draw a spell or trap, I receive 500 damage to my life points." At this point Hunter grinned. "But if I draw a monster, you're dealt its level times 200 as damage! So let's go! _Demon Roulette_!"

The gun monster hopped into the center of the arena and spun around until it stopped, both barrels pointing at Hunter and Zephyr in a twisted game of Russian Roulette. The Obelisk picked up his card and grinned. "Infernity Destroyer, level six." And he revealed the card in his hand. Reloader laughed as the gun fired at Zephyr, wounding him for 1200 points of damage.

T and Z: 6800

H and N: 7900

Tyler gulped. They lost the lead by a fair amount, and now Hunter had a good field advantage with all his cards. But now he had a card in his hand, on top of normal summoning that turn. Meaning he couldn't use anymore Infernity effects. Now was the time to strike! He decided to strike on his turn-

"Now I activate one of my Launchers effects! I can 'load' one Infernity from my hand to the graveyard!" He discarded his Destroyer, and dashed Tyler's hopes of a weakness in the strategy. "And since my hand is once again at zero, I can activate my Launchers effect, to revive two Infernity monsters in my graveyard by sending it to the grave!" The cannon launched a blast that covered the field in smoke. When it cleared, there stood two monsters, one that towered over the others and had powerful-looking arms, and another that looked like a druid with a demonic skull face and a black robe.

"Meet Infernity Necromancer (0/2000) and my Infernity Destroyer!" (2300/1400) Hunter grinned again. "And now that that's all settled, let's move on to the grand finale! I tune my level 4 Infernity Archfiend with my level 4 Infernity Avenger!"

Tyler just muttered, "Oh crap."

As the demon passed through the four green rings and became the signature white stars of a Synchro Summon, Hunter began his chant.

"_Inner demons made corporeal over the cage of endlessness! Swoop down darkness! Synchro Summon! Desecrate, Infernity Death Dragon!"_

A black, death-colored dragon appeared, with its head that looked almost hilariously misshapen if it were not so disturbing, and two sets of arms, one that looked terrifyingly like claws, and one set of vestigial arms on its chest. (3000/2400)

Allen sighed from the sidelines. "And now you guys are about to figure out why I hate Synchro monsters so much."

Tyler wondered what he meant before Hunter continued. "Next I activate the effect of Infernity Necromancer, which lets me Special Summon one Infernity monster in my grave as long as my hand is at zero. So be reborn once more, Infernity Archfiend!" The purple demon arose from _more_ smoke and pulsed with its malicious light once more, as Hunter searched his deck for another Infernity card. "I choose the spell card, Infernity Burst! Which I will now activate! Thanks to this, I can deal you guys 800 points of damage for each Infernity monster I control! And since I now control five…Well, you can kiss 4000 points of yours goodbye!" The spell card launched a small bomb in between the two rookies, which promptly exploded violently enough to nearly toss them back.

T and Z: 2800

H and N: 7900

And now Tyler was visibly worried. This was a seriously bad turn, in which Hunter had nearly wiped them out with one card, and now had a full field of monsters to attack with. This guy was unbelievably powerful. The Obelisk declared his next move. "I activate my Infernity Death Dragon's effect! Each turn, I can destroy one monster you control and deal half of its attack points to you as damage! Provided I have no hand of course." He added smirking. "I target Luster Dragon_! Infernity Death Breath_!"

The black dragon opened its maw and released a wave of black fog that encompassed Tyler's sapphire dragon. Once the wave vanished, the only evidence that there had been a dragon there at all was the damage in Tyler and Zephyr's life points.

T and Z: 1850

H and N: 7900

"However, after using this effect, my Dragon can't attack." Hunter sighed. "You know even though I like you guys, I promised not to hold back. Infernity Destroyer, attack Dragunity Dux now!" The powerful monster jumped into the air and threw a dive punch at the winged humanoid. Zephyr and Tyler nodded at each other.

"This duel isn't over yet!" Tyler declared. "Go, reverse card! Fanged Spirit!" The card arose and revealed to show a phantom dragon guarding what was believed to be its home from enemies. "During the turn a Dragon I control is destroyed and sent to the grave, I can negate your next attack and end your battle phase on the spot!" Luster rose to meet up with the fiend, and proceeded to hold him off. The purple behemoth returned to Hunter's field.

"Not bad, not bad. I think I underestimated you guys. Glad you proved me wrong! Next up I'll activate my facedown continuous spell, Wave-Motion Inferno! With this, all my Infernity monsters gain 400 attack and defense points while I have no hand! Now I think I'll end my turn there!"

Destroyer: 2300/1400 - 2700/1800

Necromancer: 0/2000 - 400/2400

Reloader: 900/0 - 1300/400

Archfiend: 1800/1200 - 2200/1600

Death Dragon: 3000/2400 - 3400/2800

Tyler breathed a sigh of relief. They had just _barely_ survived that turn. He just needed to keep his cool and things should be fine right? _'I mean really, this situation isn't that impossible to survive is it?'_ "I'll start my turn! Draw!" He glanced at his card before picking up another. "I activate my spell, N – Nesting Grounds! And with this, I can either revive a level 4 or lower Dragon monster, or add a Dragon from my deck or grave to my hand. I'll use the searching effect to add Strong Wind Dragon to my hand!" The card slid out from his deck and Tyler grabbed it.

"Next up, because I control no monsters while you guys do, I can Special Summon the Vice Dragon in my hand!" He placed the monster on the field, and it appeared as a purple dragon. "When Vice Dragon is Special Summoned this way, his attack and defense points are cut in half. (2000/2400 - 1000/1200) And now I release Vice Dragon to summon Strong Wind Dragon!" The purple dragon disappeared and gave rise to a newer, green dragon, with a long face, and a powerful body rippling with muscles. Its wings picked up powerful winds and looked at home in the Dragon Canyon field spell. (2400/1000)

"And the point of all that, is that when Strong Wind Dragon is Advanced Summoned by Releasing a Dragon-type monster, he gains half of that monsters original attack strength!" (2400/1000 - 3400/1000) The green dragon roared as it gained power from the sacrificial dragon, and the gusts it picked up were fiercer than before. "Strong Wind Dragon! Attack that Infernity Dragon now with _Strong Hurricane_!" The green dragon directed a massive gust directly towards the black dragon, which countered with its own wave of death.

The black dragon blasted back and the arena was covered in virtual smoke, but was soon swept away by Strong Wind Dragon's gusts as he remained standing behind Tyler, as master and servant, and the black haired teen smiling confidently. "Strong Wind Dragon isn't destroyed when battling a monster of equal attack strength. Sorry, but I don't like to disappoint my fans." He looked out at the small amount of students who had heard the sounds of the duel and came wandering in to watch. "With two facedowns, I'll end my turn there."

Two virtual cards appeared on Tyler's field as Null began her turn. "I'll activate the spell card Dark World Dealings, in which everybody draws one card and then discards one." As everyone did so, Null's grave began to shine. "And now I activate the effect of the Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World that I discarded. When he's discarded from my hand to my graveyard I can Special Summon him to the field." (2300/1400) Beside the mad king rose a gold-plated fiend wielding a giant golden axe with large, black wings with golden plating. "Next I activate the spell Dark World Corridor!" She placed the card into her duel disk as Null explained the card effect. "I can add one Dark World monster from my deck to my hand, then discard one card." A card slid out from her deck which she placed into her hand. "I add Sillva, Warlord of Dark World to my hand, then discard Ceruli, Monk of Dark World to the graveyard."

Tyler gulped as he thought, _'I'm beginning to see a pattern here…'_ And his guess was correct as Null's grave shone once more, "Next up I activate the effect of Ceruli, Monk of Dark World. When he is discarded from my hand, I can Special Summon him back to your side of the field." She looked from the green haired Slifer to the black haired one. "I will Special Summon him to your side of the field, in attack position." She declared as the monk, wielding a halberd and wearing blue colored armor, materialized on Tyler's field and Null tossed him the card.

"This activates his ability, in which I am forced to discard one card in my hand." Null smiled evilly. "I discard the Sillva I added with Corridor." Her grave shone once more.

'_What'd she do, add a laser light show to her duel disk?'_ He thought trying to escape the feeling of dread in his stomach.

That's when a silver clad figure arose next to the golden one, each in stark contrast to the other, right down to the weapons, as Sillva wielded two small daggers, whereas Goldd hefted around a single large axe weapon. (2300/1400) "And now Sillva's second effect activates, where if he is discarded by an opponent's card effect, I can randomly choose two cards in one of you guys' hands and discard them."

"Wait!" Tyler cried out. "Ceruli is _your_ monster!"

Hunter laughed as Allen explained from the sidelines. "Ceruli is on _your_ field though. That makes it _your _effect." The green-haired Ra shook his head and sighed. "Learn to play the game before you wanna go and join the club."

"Committee!" Hunter retorted.

"You know what I mean." Allen declared and remained silent and Null finished her effect.

"I discard these!" She declared as she plucked two random cards from Zephyr's hand. She had strolled over to the other side of the arena to pick cards out of Zephyr's hand at random while Tyler wasn't looking.

The light blue haired girl walked back over to her side of the arena, behind her three big monsters, I might add and declared she was entering her Battle Phase. "Sillva will attack Dux!" She declared as the fiend leapt towards the winged humanoid and sliced him to pieces with his daggers.

T and Z: 1450

H and N: 7900

"Next up I attack Ceruli with Goldd! Finish this match up!" The golden demon surged forward with his axe and raised it up to slash the poor monk.

"I activate my facedown, Enemy Controller!" Zephyr declared. "Think I can get a hand partner?" He asked turning to Tyler. He nodded and responded.

"I got your back 'Hero'. I Release my Monk of Dark World, or actually I should say _your_ Monk of Dark World, in order to fulfill the cost of Enemy Controller!" Tyler finished as the blue clad demon vanished in a shower of lights and Tyler threw Nullita back her card.

Zephyr smirked as the controller input the code, Up Up, Down Down, Left Right, Left Right, A B, Start. "Now we can take over one of your monsters for the turn, like Goldd himself!" The gold plated demon stopped its assault, then promptly turned around and faced down Nullita's field. "I'll just set one card and take my Wu-Lord back, thank you." The Obelisk girl calmly stated with a false innocent smile.

'_Okay, now I __know__ that she's faking nice!' _Tyler thought as he saw her grin._ 'She's as bad as her Dark Worlds! Well, they do say the deck reflects the soul. Maybe there's some truth in that after all…' _Tyler was having serious second thoughts about this girl.

"My turn!" Zephyr declared, bringing Tyler out of his thoughts. "I think I'll play a little spell called Spellbooks Inside the Pot!" All four teens drew three cards. Tyler mentally cheered as Hunter finally couldn't use his Infernity cards' effects, and he had a hefty amount, so no easy one card throwaways this time! "Next up my field spells effect! I'll discard Dragunity Arms Laevatein to add Dragunity Armada from my deck to my hand!" He looked at the cards in his hand and smiled. "You know, Miss Nullita, I would very much like to thank you for discarding those particular cards. See, now I summon Dragunity Armada to the field!" (1400/900) Another winged humanoid appeared, this time wearing golden armor over a green undershirt. "When Armada is Normal Summoned, I can add any two Dragon-type Dragunity monsters from my graveyard to my hand, like Dragunity Corsesca and Dragunity Aklys!" He grabbed the two cards from his graveyard slot.

"Next up is the continuous spell, Dragon Control Technique!" He placed the card into his disk, which rose up on the field facing outwards. "Now, every monster equipped with a Dragunity monster gains 500 attack, and once per turn, I can equip a Dragunity monster in my hand like an equip spell! So I equip Armada with Dragunity Aklys!" Another dragon appeared beside the winged humanoid. This time, a long spear weapon was produced. (1400/900 - 1900/900) "Next up, comes my spell card, Dragunity Treasure! By sending an equipped Dragunity to my grave, I can draw 2 cards!" He drew his two cards as Armada tossed the Aklys into the air. "But my Dragunity Aklys doesn't like going down alone." Zephyr smirked as the spear hovered in the air. "When Dragunity Aklys is sent to the grave while it's equipped, then I get to take out one card you control." The spear of Aklys hovered in the air as Zephyr made his choice. "I'll choose Miss Nullita's left hand facedown!" The spear struck true and the facedown Hate Buster was destroyed.

"But that's not all! By sending a Dragunity monster I control to the grave, I can Special Summon Dragunity Arms Misteil!" (2100/1500) In the place of the humanoid, arose a humanoid dragon with yellow armor wielding a fierce blade. "Next, Misteil gets to equip himself with a Dragunity of his own! And what better way to come full circle than with Aklys!" In one hand, the mighty Misteil held his sword, and in the other was the spear Aklys. (2100/1500 - 2600/1500)

"By removing from play one Dragunity monster on my field while it's equipped with another Dragunity, I can Special Summon from my grave, the might Dragunity Arms Laevatein!" (2600/1200) As the yellow armored dragon vanished, a new dragon arose clad in red armor and was several feet taller than the last. The green haired Slifer continued. "And Laevatein can equip himself with another Dragunity, like Brandistock!" This time, twin blades appeared and the red dragonoid grasped them in his hands. (2600/1200 - 3100/1200) "Next up comes the spell, Stamping Destruction! While I control a Dragon-type monster, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card and deal you 500 points of damage!" Nullita's facedown Nightmare Mirror was shattered as Laevatein crashed through it, and smacked the Obelisk girl in the chest.

T and Z: 1450

H and N: 7400

"While Brandistock is used as an equip card, the monster he's equipped to can attack twice per battle phase!" Zephyr looked on at Hunter's field and declared his first attack. "Laevatein! Attack that Infernity Necromancer now! _Dual Cross Blade_!" The dragonoid ripped through the black robed druid easily. "Next I target Infernity Reloader! _Dual Cross Blade_!" The dragonoid turned its attention towards the demonic revolver and ripped that in half as easily as it had the Necromancer.

T and Z: 1450

H and N: 5600

"Alright! Great job Zephyr!" Tyler cheered his tag partner on. They had not only survived long enough to get to this point, things were starting to look up for them! With Laevatein standing strong at 3100 and attacking twice per turn, and Strong Wind Dragon at a solid 3400 with piercing, this duel looked like it was heading in the right direction for the newcomers.

Zephyr nodded back and said, "I'll set this facedown and end my turn."

Hunter nodded. "You guys aren't half bad, taking on our swarming tactics so easily. But I doubt you guys are gonna live past this next turn." He placed one card into his duel disk. "First, I'll set one card facedown, then activate the second effect of Wave-Motion Inferno: during my turn, I can send it to the grave to discard my entire hand." The spell card pulsed and shattered as the Obelisk placed all the cards in his hand into his graveyard.

"Next, I'll use the card I just set, my facedown spell Zero-MAX." The card arose to reveal a multi-colored orb that distorted the air around it. "I can only activate this card when I have no cards left in my hand, and with it I can revive one Infernity monster in my graveyard and destroy every monster on the field with lower attack strength than it has." The black druid reappeared. "I'll revive my Infernity Necromancer in defense mode."

Tyler spoke up, "But Necromancer has no attack points. Why would you get him instead of your Dragon?"

Hunter smirked. "I think I can kinda see what Al was talking about now. See, since my Necromancer has no attack points, that means it can't kill mine or Null's monsters. And since I have no cards in my hand, I can use his effect to revive Infernity Death Dragon to the field!" The black dragon reappeared and reared its ugly head, letting loose a strangled cry. "Now with his effect I can destroy your Strong Wind Dragon! _Infernity Death Breath_!" The black wave of death whirled around the green dragon, suffocating him in its black mist. "And when Death Dragon uses his effect to destroy a monster, the damage dealt is half of that monster's current attack strength, not original." Hunter sighed. "Al, you knew this would happen, didn't you? Sorry guys, you're cool, but not enough to beat us."

T and Z: 0

H and N: 5600

Tyler scratched the back of is head, and muttered "Damn. My cards were only good if he had attacked." These Obelisk students really were good! Amelia barely compared to them! I guess that's what they get for attending this school for over a year while he had only been there a couple of weeks. He picked up the two facedowns in his duel disk, Negate Attack and Dragon's Revenge.

Allen hopped up onto the arena. "Alright, good game fellows, now get lost."

Tyler frowned. "You don't have to be so crass, jeez."

Hunter turned to Nullita. "Well my dear, I think the new guys were pretty impressive if I do say so myself. What are your thoughts?"

The blue-haired girl smiled a bit and replied, "Actually, even though they lost pretty badly, I am impressed they managed to last as long as they did." She giggled a bit. "They suitably impressed me. They lasted through an entire field of your best Infernities, and a swarm of my Dark Worlds. So my vote is… pass!"

"Wha-?" Allen stood agape before Hunter continued his vote.

"Agreed. Motion passes. Welcome to the Committee Tyler Verano and Zephyr Winston!" He grinned and held out his hand. Both boys stood wide-eyed and mouths hung open. Then looked at each other and jumped at his hand, nearly yanking it off.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!"

"WHAT!" Allen exclaimed. He looked pissed. "Hunter, we had a deal! They lose, they go! The hell happened to that!"

"If would go back on our conversation, I said if they impressed us, we'd let them in. In your hurry to see them lose to us, you neglected to make sure all loopholes were filled." Hunter smirked. "In other words, I outsmarted you. Again. Really, that's the second time this week. I think you're losing your touch old friend." Nullita stood behind Hunter, sighing.

'_This isn't gonna be good…'_

As Allen shouted out some more, Tyler felt a little bad. Was he really that annoying to him? It wasn't anything personal; he just wanted to join the Committee. Knowing Allen was just a byproduct. "Dude, what's your deal?" the green-haired Slifer spoke up. "You hatin' on us Reds because you think you're better than us!"

Tyler looked over at Zephyr, his face was contorted in rage and if glares could burn things, Allen would look like somebody char-grilled a cat. "We may have lost, but we did damn good! Infernities and Dark Worlds are two types of monsters that easily swarm the field and gain control! And we survived two onslaughts! I think we deserve some respect!" As he finished his rant, he breathed out. Suddenly he looked over at Tyler. "Well? What do you think?"

Tyler held up his hands in defense. "Hey man, Allen's issues are his own thing. Honestly, I'm kinda thinkin' about backing out if Allen's gonna bitch about it." He shrugged, telling it as straight as possible. "Besides, I'm kinda only joining for my own personal reasons. Yeah I wanna help the Academy out, but there's somebody I need to keep an eye on. And the Committee is the perfect way to do that." Tyler pictured Sipher's face for a moment and felt sick. "If you're gonna pick anyone, you should pick Zeph here. I mean he piggybacked me that whole duel. I'm kinda embarrassed about that." He scratched the back of his head at the end of this.

"But if you guys let me stay, then I'm sure you can teach me to get better and stuff. It's hard for me to concentrate in class anyway." Tyler finished and shrugged. He took this opportunity to collect the cards still in his duel disk and gathered them into his deck.

Allen gave it a bit of thought. The main reason that he didn't want the Slifer kid to join was because there was something about him that was an 'X' factor. That 'X' factor involved that Trident Dragion, and his excessive outbursts that came with it, and Allen knew he wouldn't be able to control Tyler if he got out of hand. He noticed that Tyler's Duel Energy soared to extreme levels during their duel, and the only reason Allen wasn't seriously hurt was because of Dragoon. Duel Energy was a force that came from deep within oneself, and influenced the outcome of a duel in ways such as drawing the right card, finding the clarity needed to perform a combo that gets them out of a dire situation, and even, in some advanced cases, making damage real to the opponent if the damage was high enough.

Unknowingly, Allen concluded, he had put an enormous amount of pressure on the boy, and in response he unleashed his energy in the most fantastic and powerful fashion he could: his Trident Dragion. If someone else were to push this boy into a losing situation and he played his Trident Dragion, who knows how much energy he would put out, and who knows how much that person would be hurt? Who could have such an enormous Duel Energy? Allen had only found out all this _after_ the Vic incident, when Dragoon had informed him of the dangers of the Slifer dueling too often.

But now, seeing him lose in such a fantastic fashion, and Tyler having no spikes in Energy from what Allen could tell, Allen realized his mistake. Instead of pushing him away and hoping worst wouldn't come to worst, he should have been helping him control that power.

But then this raised the question of how Tyler was able to control his powers before? Was there anything in his past that he didn't want people to know about? Any incidents where Tyler hurt anybody? And, Allen was horrified at this thought, was Tyler's energy due to him being a Psychic? That was the most likely course, but how could he be sure?

Allen sighed. Too many questions to make any conclusions, he'd need to reevaluate things later. "Look, there's a good reason I have to act like this, but I can't say right now. I…apologize, but I guess you shouldn't let my complaints stop you. Hunter," Al turned to his friend of 3 years, "go ahead and let them join. You're the Captain, and I shouldn't have said that stuff. We cool?" He held out his fist.

Hunter smirked. "Like the other side of the pillow." He bumped his fist with Allen's. The Ra then turned to both Slifers.

"We good?" His and Hunter's fists were still connected.

Zephyr put on a face of relief. "We good." He nodded at Tyler, and both Slifers bumped fists with the Obelisk and the Ra, as Nullita rolled her eyes at the 'macho' men.

Card Database:

Dragunity Armada – WIND – Lv 3 – Winged Beast/Effect – When this card is Normal Summoned, you can add 2 Dragon-type Dragunity monsters from your graveyard to your hand. (1400/900)

Dragunity Treasure – Normal Spell – Send one Dragunity card equipped to one monster you control to the graveyard. Draw 2 cards. Skip your next Draw Phase.

These cards were made by me in order to create a way out for Zephyr and Tyler. Yeah, the Treasure is pretty hax, since that gives Zephyr a crapton of draw power adding to his Canyon's search power, but hey, I tried to balance the cards out. And I only have Zephyr using one Cards of Consonance and one Dragunity Treasure. (In the case of using the American naming convention for 'Treasure' draw cards, this would be renamed to Cards for Dragon Blades, since the Dragunities are a bunch of blade-like equip monsters.)

Dark: Well, there's that! Stay tuned for Part 1 of 'With Great Power Comes Great Trouble', where the title really starts to mean something for our hero Tyler!

Jack: You know, all things considering this wasn't too bad.

Kaiba: I know right? The way I see it, he's getting better at this!

Dark: Aw shucks guys! That means a lot!

Manjoume: You still have a long way to go, you know. There's a lot for you to learn.

Dark: Keh. Don't I know that… While I may not do it soon, I will go back and rewrite the first couple of chapters, to bring them up to the level I'm at now, if I've even gotten better.

Jack: Well, while Dark Overlord ponders his advancements in skill, Kaiba! Manjoume! We must do the Featured Card!

Kaiba: Agreed! This Chapter's Featured Cards are: Wave-Motion Inferno, Strong Wind Dragon, Infernity Death Dragon, Dragunity Arms Laevatein, and Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World!

Manjoume: I choose Infernity Death Dragon as the Featured Card! This 3000 ATK beater has an unbelievably powerful effect, akin to Edo Phoenix's Destiny-End Dragoon, and is powerful enough to not get run over, giving you a big monster to have in case you set Infernity Barrier, probably one of the best Trap cards ever.

Dark: More like most broken Trap card ever… Instant negate anything, for free, and given Infernity Swarm and Search power, it isn't too hard to nab three of the trap and set it with a field full of Infernities.

Jack: Don't worry, it's gonna get hit by the banlist soon enough. The most recent one at the time of writing limited Infernity Launcher, the Infernities biggest swarm card. Barrier may be TCG only, but it's only a matter of time before its hit.

Dark: Yup, I can take solace in that for the time being. Well, I gotta get working on the next chapter, or else Jack's Scar-Red Nova Dragon will incinerate me! So, please, Read and Review! Peace out ya'll!


	8. Chapter 7: With Great Power Comes Great

Dark: Been out of it for a while, things needing to get done, etc. I'm definitely not the most consistent writer, but I hope I make up for it with quality. Also, as a note: I was typing this up for a forum, so if I accidentally left in some bb code by accident, please ignore it D: Anyways, Jack, Manjoume and Kaiba aren't here right now for super happy fun time because they need to hide from-

Kaito: LET ME HUNT FOR YOUR SOUL!

Dark: God dammit ZeXal...

Kaito: Galaxy-Eyes! Kick this show off! Photon Stream of Destruction!

Dark: Start the damn fic already. -

Chapter 7: With Great Power Comes Great Trouble Part 1

Tyler got back to his dorm room later that day, as the sun began its descent beneath the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Even as Tyler twisted his key into the lock, he had to admit to himself that the view was breath-taking. That date he wanted to take Violet on should have been on the beach instead of in that boring courtyard. But no, she had decided to just get it over and done with using a small lunch period.

And now that Tyler had time to think about it, that date was interrupted by Nick and his love life. Anguished, Tyler bonked his head on the door and groaned. His only chance on a date with Violet and he blew it helping out his friend. Granted, that was a pretty serious situation, and on a plus side, he managed to get Violet's PDA ID. Mumbling to himself, he entered the room he shared with Adam, "I'll have to invite her over to a beach party or something next day off we get."

Because the students lived at the school, the faculty expected them to go to school 6 days a week, only getting holidays and Sundays off. And only the big holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas and them. Sunday was usually spent doing the mass amounts of homework the students received. Mostly from Professor Weinhammer, Tyler noted to himself. Inside his room, he found Adam sitting there on the floor, cross-legged with his cards laid out in front of him.

"Hey, Tyler. Just tweaking my deck a bit." Adam spoke as he resumed his thoughts.

"Oh well, have fun with that. I just got back from joining the Disciplinary Committee, no big deal." He shrugged.

No, he wasn't trying to hide his smugness, yes, he was proud of himself, and yes, he would like a cookie for his troubles.

"Oh? So how was that?" Adam asked, half-curious, half-indulging.

"Weeeeeeeeeell, I kinda got my assed handed to me. But I went down fighting!" Tyler punched the air. "And my partner was Zephyr in a tag match! He was really something! If it weren't for him I'm pretty sure we would have lost earlier than we did."

"Cool, cool. Hey, wanna help me test out my deck a bit? Not anything fancy like with our disks, just a quick tabletop game. The new banlist came out, so I was just editing my deck to fit it. Gotta keep my game up to date if I wanna get better, you know?"

"Sure, no prob. Hunter and Nullita, they're people in the Committee, they helped me with my deck a bit. Gave me a couple of tips and stuff when I lost epically, showed me the new banlist. I'm surprised they finally got around to banning Spellbooks Inside the Pot! Card is crazy good! And I used to love Soul Resonance! Helped me win my duel with Allen."

"I know, right?" Adam laughed and gathered up his cards. "Alright," he announced, shuffling his deck, "Let's do this!"

Tyler pulled out his deck from his duel disk and started manually shuffling it. He felt a surge of nostalgia as he shuffled with his hands, far too used to his duel disk's automated shuffling system. The duel disk was a gift from his mother for his 15th birthday, to replace his old one: a Battle City model with rusted edges and a tarnished shine he got on E-bay for $60. Best 60 bucks he had ever spent. It didn't have the auto-shuffle mechanism the newer models had, so he always had to manually shuffle.

He sat down and placed his deck on the floor in front of him as Adam pulled out a piece of paper. "I'll keep track of life points, okay?"

Tyler nodded, then inquired, "So how do we choose who starts? Coin flip? Die roll?"

Adam shrugged. "Well, me and my friends back home, when we played on tabletop, always cut our decks, and whichever card had a name that started with the letter closest to 'A' would choose." He cut his deck to reveal a Counter Trap Card: Extrio's Fang.

Tyler cut his own deck and revealed a monster: Exploder Dragon. Tyler chuckled, "Wow that was a close cut. I'll start us off."

He drew his starting five, as did Adam, then declared his turn and drew.

"I'll Normal Summon Spear Dragon in Attack Mode…" he declared, placing the monster onto the floor in front of him.

The Next Morning…

Micah stood outside the door, arms folding and foot tapping. Where were Adam and Tyler? If they didn't wake up soon, they'd be late for class. And no matter how much Adam hated waking up in the morning, he never slept in.

She knocked on the door again, her knuckles rapping loudly against the wooden door, which was in need of replacing. As was pretty much everything else about the Slifer building. She decided to call them out, "Adam! Tyler! Wake up!"

Once again, her calls went without response. She decided to actually try to open the door. Respecting their privacy was a moot point at this stage. What she saw forced her to hold in a laugh. Adam and Tyler were lying down on the floor, asleep, hands on their cards, playing tabletop. Next to Adam were four or five sheets of paper with varying numbers on it, each set starting at 4000. Upon a closer inspection, it turned out that both sides of the papers had been used to keep score. Micah accurately deduced that they had spent the entire night dueling.

And now they were about to pay the price of irresponsible bed times. "HEY! WAKE UP NUMBSKULLS!"

You've never seen anyone wake up like Adam and Tyler did just then. Heads crashed into the low bed, the crappy dresser, each other, hands scrambling for cards, eyes glancing at the clock, shock spreading out on their faces as they saw the time. Really, it was priceless. As the two bounded around the room in hysterics, they shouted at each other.

"Dumbass!" Tyler exclaimed, "You shoulda just let it end after round 15!"

Adam shot back, "And what about you, Mr. 'One-More-Then-We'll-Call-It-A-Night'!"

"That's such a lame comeback."

At this point Tyler had removed his shirt and was in the process of dropping his pants when he noticed Micah standing there in the doorway. "The hell! Micah, get out of here!"

She laughed at them some more and glanced over at Adam, whose head was stuck in his shirt. She walked over to him and told him to stay still as she unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt, which let him slide it off easier.

"Better?" She asked gazing at him.

Adam turned red, and replied with a whisper into her ear. Micah smiled and kissed him on the cheek, then announced she would be heading to class. "I'm not sure if Jack will let you off the hook for this one Ty, and I know Mrs. Yuki hates tardy students! So yeah, later!"

Tyler stuck out his tongue after her, then turned to his roomie, his face still red from embarrassment. "Your girlfriend annoys the crap out of me, I hope you know that."

Adam smiled, and faced him. "Maybe it's because she's like a female you. Loud, obnoxious, mocking, yet she has a softer side. Kinda like what you got for Violet."

Tyler groaned. "Don't remind me of her. I haven't gotten anywhere with that."

Adam laughed, suddenly choking on his laughter as he remembered why he was in such a rush.

Later That Day…

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

"Alright, the reasons you're here are all different, but let me tell you maggots something!" the imposing man shouted as he stood at the head of the room. He was Coach Carpenter, the gym teacher, and also head of discipline. He was the guy the Disciplinary Committee turned all of their people into after they caught them. Tyler hadn't met him before now.

"We treat all of our troublemakers with strict discipline! This is why you are all to remain in this room, without speaking a word for the next hour and a half!"

Tyler sat with his head resting on his arms, trying to go to sleep. He sighed. Not a good way to tell people he was in the Committee. He saw Vic sitting there, silently working on his homework. When they had entered the room, they greeted each other warmly, but were cut short by the Coach and his 'No Talking' rule. Immediately he had been singled out, due to his newfound status as a member of the DC. Chewed out for no other reason than him being late.

Bored out of his mind, Tyler began to sort out his favorite songs in his head, as he wasn't able to listen to his iPod. A song found its way worming into his brain.

He started whispering to himself the words, the drums, bass and guitar all flowing in his head in time to the lyrics.

He briefly wondered what all of his friends were doing…

Well, except for Adam, whom he was sitting right next to.

Micah was lying in her bed, reading a magazine she had bought at the student store. Her roommate, Lenore Swiss, was sitting on the floor filing her nails.

"So where's this boyfriend of yours? I thought you two were hanging out tonight." The blonde asked the redhead.

Micah sighed. "Oh, he's in detention." Her tone was nonchalant, almost uncaring.

Lenore immediately perked up. "Oooo, so what did he do? Get in a fight? Mug someone?"

Micah giggled and replied, "No, the dummy stayed up all night dueling and woke up late. He was pretty cute when he couldn't work himself out of his shirt though."

Both girls giggled in their girlish ways.

"Okay, so if I play Shrink during my opponents Damage Step, they'll have fewer options to counter with since only a few cards can work at that point?" A Slifer with black hair asked Nick Stryder, as they were in the library.

"That's right. Shrink is a good card because almost all the time it will make your opponent's monster weaker." He replied. "And since very few cards work in the damage step, your opponent will have fewer things that can stop Shrink."

Nick had taken up being a student tutor, which was odd considering he was a first-year but due to his exceptional grades, the faculty made an exception. Mrs. Yuki and Jack had both already recommended him to be graduated to Obelisk Blue, which he was excited to hear about. Weinhammer had stated that if he could tutor students and raise their grades, then he would consider letting him join the dorm. The Chancellor agreed to this, which was why Nick was helping out Slifer students.

When he heard this announcement, he thought to himself, _'__Amelia…I'll do my best to become someone strong you can depend on!'_

Allen placed his knight next to Zephyr's bishop, knowing it would be safe there._ 'Idiot…'_ he thought in reference to Tyler. Kid goes and joins and says he'll do his best, then gets late to class the very next day, causing him to get detention and not be able to get to the Committee room like they had planned. Zephyr contemplated his next move as Allen thought silently to himself.

Hunter was on the computer updating the Academy's web page, introducing their two newest members, Zephyr and Tyler, and Nullita was sitting down, reading a book.

The whole scene had a vaguely familiar feel to it, but Allen couldn't place it. He shrugged and continued to place his chess pieces in methodical order, almost as if the game were playing itself.

A knock was heard at the door. Nullita glanced at Hunter, who glanced at Allen, who glanced up towards Zephyr, who glanced towards… the seat where Tyler should have been sitting. He sighed and stood up to get the door. Upon opening it, he found a brunette girl with green eyes, a neutral expression on her face.

"Is Allen here?" She asked the Committee newbie.

Zephyr turned to let her inside, "Allen, this girl wants to talk to you."

Allen stood up. "Violet? What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

Allen turned to Hunter, who had leaned back in his chair to listen in. "Go ahead. We got Zephyr here to pick up the slack." He waved him off. "Go on," he commanded, "We'll be fine."

Allen nodded and turned back to the Obelisk girl. "Alright, looks like I'm free at the moment."

Minutes later, they found themselves in the student courtyard, a large, open area with picnic tables where students could sit, eat lunch, and bask in the sun, duel or generally just chill. "So what's up?"

"Ah nothing," She replied. "It's just that we haven't hung out like we used to. I haven't seen you in so long I almost forgot what you looked like." She laughed as she sat down at a picnic table.

Despite himself, he really couldn't blame Tyler for falling for her. If he were here, he would be stumbling all over himself if he saw her, the way the sun hit her, her hair lighting up, almost adding a golden glow to it. Which brought up a memory of when they first reunited…

"_Why did you dye your hair?"_

_Violet looked surprised. "Huh? Oh, so you noticed. I thought you wouldn't remember. Yeah, I've been dyeing it for about 2 years now. A year after you moved." She laughed and turned to the side, grabbing some of her hair in hand._

_Allen narrowed his gaze. "That's not answering the question."_

_Violet rolled her eyes. "Okay okay, just stop with the third-degree. I just felt like a change was needed. People always saw my hair first and me second, and I just couldn't take it anymore."_

"_I didn't think your old hair color was so bad."_

"_Your hair is dark green. Naturally. How could anyone compete with that?"_

"_Yeah but…"_

"_Hey Allen!" That was when Tyler had come running up._

"Yeah well, I think it's mainly because you've been doing your thing and I've been doing mine." Allen sat down across from her, after the foreshadowing had finished.

"But we should see each other more often!" Violet whined. "You're like the pseudo-brother I never had."

Allen leaned off to the side and laughed, conceding. "Okay, okay. I hear you." He propped up his head with his right hand. "So what do you think of the school? As a concerned pseudo-brother of course."

Violet smiled a bit. "It's pretty cool. I've been learning a lot, meeting new people, making new friends, you know, new kid at a new school stuff. Classes take up so much time though, I haven't really gotten to duel much. So far it's all been theory."

Allen chuckled. "That's how it is. Don't worry, eventually you'll start getting some more hands-on experience in the classroom. Or you could just challenge random people out here."

Violet shifted slightly. "I dunno, I would feel a little awkward about asking for a duel. I think I'll just wait for the right challenger to appear."

"So, anyone in particular got your eye?" Immediately she knew where he was hinting at.

"You mean Tyler, don't you?" He nodded in response. "I think he's a cool guy to hang with, but I don't know about anything other than that. He seems pretty…guarded if you ask me. He wants to be close to people, but never opens up to them. Or maybe I'm just making something from nothing."

Allen nodded. "Yeah, that's what I'm getting too. You know, he's got a lot of Duel Energy. Enough to knock me off balance."

Violet nodded back. "Yeah, I felt that in our first duel. It was tremendous. But I think he held back subconsciously. If he used enough power to knock you over, then he must not have much control. Have you talked about this with anyone else?"

"Only Hunter and Null. They said that if he got into anything, it'd be my job to bail him out." Allen scratched his head. "Geez, that's so troublesome."

"So what are you gonna do about it?"

He shrugged in response. "I don't know; maybe just outright tell him he needs to stay in check or something. Subtlety isn't really something I'm practiced at. Not like Hunter or Null…"

Violet laughed. "You know what would be fun? We haven't had a game in a while, and I wouldn't want you to get rusty. After all, Tyler was the one who beat you…"

Allen laughed. "I'm not on the same level I was back then. I've grown leagues stronger. Tyler caught me off-guard is all."

Violet laughed. "From Tyler's side it sounded like he ran you through the washer, dryer and back again just to make sure."

"Nope. He lied. He had two lucky cards I never thought he would pull out." Allen responded.

"Tyler definitely is a wild card. I think that's why people are attracted to him." The brunette mused.

"'Attracted' you say?" Allen teased. The girl gave him a playful smack before answering.

"I didn't mean like that!" She laughed. "I just meant that despite being a complete goof, he manages to get people together."

Allen quickly laughed to himself. "Yeah, he has that air of 'main character-ness'."

The conversation quickly died down between them and Allen smirked at the joke he made that only he would understand. Violet took the moment to drink in the surrounding area, a beautiful fountain in the middle spouting water into a koi pond. The tree branches swaying in the wind, the sun shining down upon the courtyard, the few students standing together and laughing at inside jokes and past experiences, it all came together into a serene tapestry of the high school life. A high school with card games, mind you, but a high school nonetheless.

But the serenity was broken by a shaky call. "Uh, V-Violet Nors!"

Violet snapped her head around at the call of her name. She saw nobody who would be looking her way, but suddenly she realized that someone actually _was_ there. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, wore a blue blazer marking his Obelisk dorm status, and was about Tyler's height. He would be mistaken for a prince of some faraway land if not for his cowardly demeanor. He was hiding behind a tree, and that was just the start of his problems.

Violet stood up slowly. "Yes?"

"I-I would like to request a duel!" He stepped out from behind the tree, his hands shaking at his sides. He bowed in politeness. "Please accept my offer!" His voice was strained, like he was forcing the words out.

Violet raised an eyebrow and turned to face Allen, who just shrugged. "I don't know him."

"M-My name is Guy O'Ryan." He gulped audibly. "The re-reason I wish to duel you is because..." he took several deep breaths, "...because I wish to show you my resolve. I love you!" His face was a bright red, practically glowing in intensity.

Violet's eyes widened. Allen coughed. Both were thinking the exact same thing: _'__Coming on a little strong there, buddy.'_

"Calm down there, Guy." Violet responded. "I'll accept your challenge. I wonder if you can keep up." Her voice had a hint of playfulness, but Allen caught the hidden meaning. She was really saying _'Can you relieve my boredom?'_ This can't end well.

Guy immediately brightened up. "R-Really! Yes!" He quickly smacked the activation button on his duel disk and it whirred to life, the solid vision plates turned rainbow as it prepared to reveal his cards.

Violet walked over to the side of the table and activated her own disk in a calm manner. Allen suddenly felt her duel energy flare up. Why was she going so hard on the guy? Allen checked Guy's energy levels, and trust him, they were nowhere near 9000. This won't end well.

V: 4000

G: 4000

"Since you challenged me, I'll take the first turn." Violet declared. She drew her sixth card as Allen took a glance at her hand. He had to keep himself from choking on air. Violet had topped into [i]the nuts[/i]. Unless Guy did [u]something[/u] he wouldn't be showing Violet anything other than his life point counter dropping to zero. The ending to this was paved in this guy's blood.

"I'll set one monster. Your turn." Violet ended. This would be her giving him a chance at least.

The poor guy, however, had no idea. He drew his next card. "Phantom Beast Cross-Wing (1300/1000) in attack mode!" A golden bird appeared, with wings serving as both arms and legs. "Attack her monster!"

Guy's beast leapt forth and rended Violet's sole monster to shreds. "That was Apprentice Magician. When he's destroyed in battle, I can call upon any level 2 or lower Spellcaster from my deck. I'll summon Night's End Sorcerer to my field." The dark mage appeared with his scythe and set himself facedown.

"With this facedown I end." The reversed card appeared, Guy smirking. Whether it was from excitement, or happiness it was about to be wiped from his face faster than grease on a grill.

Allen groaned. This wouldn't be pretty. Violet however, smirked. "My turn, draw!" As she declared the beginning of her turn, several people had walked up to view the duel. A few people behind Violet saw her hand and laughed out loud.

"I'll flip summon my Night's End Sorcerer, then summon Magical Exemplar to the field." The green robed woman appeared to do Violet's bidding. "Spell card, activate. Terraforming." Violet's voice turned dark and mysterious. "With this, I can add any Field Spell from my Deck to my hand. I'll add my Magical Citadel of Endymion." A card slid out from the middle of Violet's deck, which she grabbed. "Then I'll play it right now! Arise, my Magical City!"

As the field slot closed with the card set into place, the walls of the student courtyard suddenly began to shift. What was once red brick became grey stone, runes adorning the walls. What had once been viewed as the school's fountain became covered in magical stones, sprouting water in impossible fashions, attainable only by the use of magic. The far off sight of the tower that served as the main building transformed into the bell tower of Endymion's Citadel. People who weren't aware of the duel suddenly were as their surroundings were altered drastically to the whim of a single duelist.

As four flaming orbs appeared over Exemplar, Violet explained, "When I activate a Spell card, Magical Exemplar gains two Spell Counters. Since I played Terraforming and Citadel, she gains 4 Counters. But the fun isn't over yet. By removing any number of Spell Counters, I can call upon a Spellcaster in my hand or graveyard of the same level! I remove 4 counters and call upon this from my hand, Madou Senshi - BREAKER!" The red armored warrior appeared as Violet slammed the card down onto her disk, his sword gleaming in the sunlight.

Allen groaned. Violet had called out her swordsman just like Mutou Yugi had always done, introducing him by his original name.

"Next up, Spell Power Grasp!" Violet placed the Spell within her duel disk, the card rising up and glowing with power, as Exemplar gained 2 flaming orbs above her. Simultaneously, the bell tower rang and glowed a red light, a flaming orb hovered in front of the face of the clock.

"I can now add 1 Spell Counter to any card on the field that can hold them. I choose Madou Senshi - Breaker!" The Magical Warrior's sword turned a bright red color, as his attack points rose. (1600 -1900) "And with his power, I can now remove that counter to wipe away your facedown card! [b]Break Slash![/b]" Breaker swung his blade and an arc of magical power erupted from the tip, shattering Guy's facedown Horn of the Phantom Beast.

"And now I can add another Spell Power Grasp to my hand from my deck." Violet said as the card slid out for her to grab. "However, I'm limited to only one Power Grasp a turn."

Guy gulped. What was happening? Violet was...so overwhelming. He found himself falling for her all over again, a look of awe plastered on his face. The jeers of classmates around him never reached him. He had eyes and ears only for Violet at this point.

"Now, I'll tune my Night's End Sorcerer with Breaker." the brunette declared. The dark mage spun his scythe around in an intricate fashion before transforming into two rings of green light. Breaker floated through both rings and transformed into four shining white orbs as Violet chanted her creed.

_"Force of magic, appear now in a storm of lightning! Strike the hearts of the weak! Synchro Summon! Raze, Tempest Magician!"_

Exemplar's twin appeared, wielding Night's End Sorcerer's scythe and black bats hovering about her. One bat turned a bright red color as Violet continued her move. "When Tempest Magician is Synchro Summoned, she immediately gains 1 Spell Counter. Next, I can discard any number of cards to grant any card I choose more Spell Counters." Violet discarded the last 3 cards in her hand, bringing her Citadel to 4 Counters. "Tempest Magician, attack Cross-Wing."

A scythe swing later, and the Phantom Beast was split in half neatly.

V: 4000

G: 3100

"Exemplar, attack directly." Violet calmly declared. Seconds later, Guy was down to less than half his life points.

V: 4000

G: 1400

Guy gulped. He had been maneuvered around so easily. Was his skill so affected by his infatuation that he wasn't playing right? Or was Violet that powerful? He had one more turn to save himself. To prove to Violet that he was worthy to be hers.

But it wasn't meant to be, as Violet finished her turn in the most dramatic way possible. She pointed up into the sky and declared her next action, as her green eyes seemed to shine in the light, "Finally, I can use Tempest Magician's effect. By removing every Spell Counter on the field, I can inflict you 500 points of damage for every counter removed." Tempest Magician gathered up all 7 orbs of magical fire in a circle. As she began to spin her staff around, the sky darkened as storm clouds appeared, thunder rumbling and lightning flashing across the heavens. "[b]Arcane Lightning![/b]"

Harsh winds picked up. Several students held their things close to their bodies, as Violet's powerful energy literally transformed the holographic winds into real gusts that threatened to tear apart the courtyard. Only Allen sat completely still. People held onto their things for dear life; they clung to each other and anything that was rooted to the ground.

_'What is she thinking!'_ Allen squinted in order to make out the rest of the duel. But all he could see was a torrent of lightning cascade down and strike Guy, who let loose a pained cry as he dropped to his knees and his life dropped to nothing.

V: 4000

G: 0

The clouds parted and sunlight rained through, bathing the courtyard once more in its warm glow. Violet deactivated her disk, and with it the runes upon the walls and the magical stones adorning the fountain vanished. The courtyard returned to its original state as the crowd became silent. Guy was still slumped on the ground, face blank.

Violet smirked in victory. She felt good, letting out all that stress. Everyday was work and study. But this was her day off. And this was her venting. And it was glorious. Allen, however, was less than thrilled. He stood up and roughly grabbed her arm. He dragged her away from the piercing stares of the other students. Violet didn't care that he was about to lecture about her lack of restraint, rolling over Guy had felt good.

As soon as they were out of eyesight, Allen let go of the girl's arm and rounded on her. "I don't care that you don't care about my lecture. I don't want you to [i]ever[/i] do that again. It doesn't matter who they are, what they did, or who's mother they insulted. Dropping 3500 points of lightning on somebody isn't kosher. You hear me?"

Violet smiled, the euphoric feeling of pure domination still welling inside of her. "Come on, don't tell me you've never cut loose just once and completely train-wrecked somebody just because you could."

Allen fell silent. He had. Many times. And he knew how addicting the feeling was. "Violet, please listen to me. The more you abuse your power, the higher risk there is of you never being able to duel. Ever again. Playing cards will become so strenuous you probably wouldn't be able to play a game of solitaire. That's how duel energy works." He shook his head. "You shouldn't do that to good people. You shouldn't do that just to relieve stress. You shouldn't even do it to prove a point. And who knows how that kid is going to be after this. You might have just wrecked his entire self-esteem. Maybe even destroyed his very Duelists' Soul."

Violet suddenly felt her stomach drop. That kind of consequence wouldn't sit well with her. "I-I'm sorry. I should go apologize." She turned around to dash back to the courtyard.

Once she arrived, she was met with the crowd of people, but no sign of Guy. Looks of fear flashed across faces and Violet shuddered. Was this how she wanted to be viewed? She turned to the nearest person and asked, "Where did he go?"

The boy responded, "Well, he uhh, he suddenly jumped up and ran away. He looked like he was crying!" The words poured out quickly, Violet only just caught them. That euphoria she felt earlier suddenly didn't feel as worth it as it did before.

She walked numbly back to Allen, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry..."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." He responded in his 'older brother/I-told-you-so' voice. Allen sighed. Violet really was sorry, but he saw her when she trounced over Guy. That was her uninhibited. Uncut, as it were. Allen had a knack for seeing the truth beneath a person's facade. Tyler was the one person he couldn't completely nail yet. But everything about him seemed to be so...guarded? Violet set up barriers because she was secretly afraid of hurting people, like she did Guy, but the feeling was too alluring.

Hunter was an asshole straight out and out. He would talk his way around you any way he could just because he could. And Nullita was a vicious lot. Kind and sweet? More like poison honey. Only one person Allen had ever seen actually had an inner personality as nice as her outer persona. But Allen would never let the writer talk about her just yet.

"I want you to know Violet," Allen began, "If you never need to cut loose, and I'm talking only when it's completely unbearable, I'll duel you." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be your punching bag when you need it."

"Thanks..." Violet's voice was hollow. Allen sighed again. Kids these days were too much trouble...

Dark: Yeah, that was pretty harsh Vi.

Kaito: Not bad, but for now, the card of the week! Let's choose from Phantom Beast Cross Wing, Magical Exemplar, Horn of the Phantom Beast, Breaker the Magical Warrior and Tempest Magician!

Dark: I'll pick Magical Exemplar. It's got an easy 1700 ATK, and gains 2 Spell Counters per spell, and in Vi's deck allows it to summon high-leveled monsters with ease, like Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. And maybe a new headliner or two.

Kaito: You mean Endymion the Master Magician?

Dark: ...*sigh* Yes, that's exactly who I mean.

Anyway, please RnR!


	9. Chapter 8: With Great Power Comes Great

Dark: So like, this is a double update, for those of you who were patient enough to not forget about poor old me. And since Kaiba, Jack and Manjoume are still MIA...

Kaito: I want my Photons to make an appearance! Do it!

Dark: Nah, this story is technically supposed to be between GX and 5Ds. I thought about retconning the whole damn thing and make it my own, but I don't want to go through the whole process of grabbing every mention of Asuka and changing it to random teacher.

Kaito: Even though you haven't DONE anything with the GX characters?

Dark: Uhhhhhhh, START THE SHOW!

Chapter 8: With Great Power Comes Great Trouble Part 2

With detention over, Tyler had finally gotten around to heading towards the Committee headquarters. However, he wasn't in too much of a hurry to get there.

_'Man, Allen's probably all mad at me and stuff. He'll probably bitch and whatever.'_

Passing by the doors to the main dueling arena, he picked up wind of a small conversation. A few people rushed by him, seemingly hurrying away from just around the corner. This would pique anybody's interest, and with that Tyler peeked around the side of the corner. The sight instantly made his blood boil.

"Alright, now you're going to hand over that blue jacket, before we rip it off of you, hear me?" an Obelisk with black-haired in a crude spiky shape said, flanked by two others of the blue dorm: a short-cropped red-head and a blond guy facing a fourth Obelisk, who had the stare of someone who's spirit was shattered. "After a beating like that, do you really think you deserve the title Obelisk? Listen, if you hand over your jacket now, and go crying back to your dorm room, we promise not to crush you like a bug like what just happened. Okay?"

"Or better yet, _you guys_ go back to your dorm rooms before I have to stomp some faces in." Tyler took this moment to make himself known to the three onlookers. A dark look in his eye gave off a wave of evil, initially shocking the three bullies. Sad blondie just stared at the wall with a sad expression.

The head of the group was the first to recover from the crazy eye, and looking at the flunkies, he was probably the only on who would. "Hey man, this ain't your business and I would kindly appreciate you leaving us to our business."

"You see, that's not how this works. I'm a member of the Duel Academy Mach Disciplinary Committee. That means when there's bullying being done, I get to crush spirits and kill hopes." Tyler was in full-on evil aura intimidation mode. However, all the Obelisks saw was an indignant Slifer who had lost his shock factor. They were slightly wary, but other than that they were able to stand their ground.

"You're in the Committee? Doubt it. As if they would let a Slifer like you in the Committee. Besides, you couldn't take us on with half your deck in your starting hand."

"You willing to own up to that?"

By now, the two were up in each other's faces with the flunkies watching silently as their boss faced a demon lord and the victim watched on in saddened silence. "We'll do this one-on-one, normal rules. Though I am tempted to give you a 2000 life point handicap. You may need it after all."

Tyler let out a grin. "I think I'll be okay with the standard 4k." He readied his duel disk while stepping back a few paces. "Just one last thing, I want to know the name of the guy who decided to bully at the wrong place at the wrong time so as to incur my wrath."

The bully laughed, "You talk weird man. The name is Ryan Orson, got it? Engrave it into your skull, it'll be the name that haunts you for the rest of your life." His duel disk whirred to life as the projectors changed to rainbow-sprinkly light-brite neon.

"Duel!"

Tyler: 4000

Ryan: 4000

"I'll start." Tyler exclaimed, drawing his sixth card. It was an interesting hand to say the least. It did, however, contain one of the newer cards he had added in since his deck tweaking yesterday. "I'll summon Masked Dragon in defense mode." His standard scaled dragon appeared with a roar. (1400/1100) "With three facedowns, I'll call it a turn." As the three reversed cards appeared, Ryan took a moment to look at Tyler's field.

"Dragons huh? Looks like this'll be a piece of cake! I draw!" He glanced at his sixth card for a moment, before setting it in his hand and grabbing a spell. "I activate Black Whirlwind! With this, whenever I Normal Summon a Blackwing, I can add a Blackwing with lower attack from my deck to my hand. Next comes Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame! (1800/1200)" A half-man/half-bird appeared with blue arms.

"Because of Whirlwind, I add Blackwing – Bora the Spear to my hand. Which I can now Special Summon while I control a Blackwing other than Bora!" (1700/800) An equal-sized man-bird hybrid appeared, wielding a very large and unpleasant looking pointy thing- err, I mean a spear. "Next up comes Gale the Whirlwind! He can also be Special Summoned while I control other Blackwings!" As opposed to the relatively more humanoid monsters, this one appeared as a caricature of a raven, including a green feathered head.

"Seeing as I now have 3 Blackwings on my field, I can activate this card straight from my hand! Delta Crow – Anti Reverse!" The card rose up to send out a surging gale at Tyler's facedowns. He had been silent this whole time, before asking one question.

"Tossing down everything turn 1 huh? Looks like you don't afraid of trap cards. Reverse card, open! G – Gust Wing! By discarding a card, I can negate your spell or trap card." Tyler tossed Totem Dragon into the graveyard, as a much larger gale was emitted from Tyler's trap to shatter Ryan's Anti-Reverse.

Ryan sucked on his teeth. He took a moment of consideration to look at the field. While getting into Obelisk may have initially been due to his connections, he proved himself at least competent as a duelist. To protect those facedowns, there had to have been something important. His rational side battled with his arrogant side. Should a Slifer really be able to push an Obelisk into a thinking situation?

His rational side said, yes, he can. A voice from his red-headed companion broke him from his thoughts. "Hey! Are you really gonna let him stop you? He's probably trying to bluff you by protecting garbage facedowns!"

To Ryan, this didn't help. That just added a whole layer to the trick. Was he protecting cards? Was he playing mind games? Tyler's unwavering stare hadn't left him since the beginning. Making the decision that he didn't want to look like a punk in front of his boys, he made his move. "Shura will attack your Masked Dragon!" Ryan decided that even if he had something facedown, with only a Masked Dragon against him, he should be able to recover.

Shura's blue flames enveloped the dragon, reducing him to ash with no complaints from Tyler. "Thanks to that, I can now Summon a Dragon in my deck with less than 1500 attack power. Come! Darkblaze Dragon!" A red and blue dragon appeared on Tyler's field. (1200/1000)

"Not bad, but I already knew that. Thanks to my Shura, I can Special Summon as well! I call upon Blackwing – Mistral the Silver Shield from my deck!" (100/1800) A bird in the shape of a shield appeared alongside his brethren, in defense mode. "Bora will now attack your Dragon! **Black Spiral Lance!**" Gathering wind around his spear, Bora lunged directly at Tyler's sole monster.

"Trap, activate!" He smirked. This was Null's card of choice for him, especially when she saw Darkblaze. "Proof of Powerlessness! When I control a level 7 or higher monster, all of your monsters with a level of 5 or lower are destroyed!" Darkblaze reared back and let loose an ear-splitting roar, which caused even Ryan to cover his ears. The roar reverberated across the Obelisk's field, shattering each monster one by one.

Once the demonstration was over, Darkblaze Dragon had returned to his place on Tyler's field in defense position, while Ryan's was empty. Tyler grinned. "You think you're so great just because you have a blue jacket? Let me show you some real power."

Ryan looked at his hand. He wasn't expecting anything like that. "I'll set one facedown and finish my turn."

"Draw." Tyler declared. Okay, so he got lucky he wasn't finished off in one turn. Mentally, he let loose a sigh of relief. A wrong setup versus Blackwing without defense could leave you wide open for heavy damage. "I'll summon Drago Synchron in attack mode. (100/100)" A small, white dragon appeared, still covered in remnants of its egg shell. "I'll tune my Darkblaze Dragon with my Drago Synchron." Ryan swore to himself as Tyler's monsters let out a battle cry. Drago Synchron transformed into a single green ring, as Darkblaze burst into a cluster of shining stars.

_"Burn__,__ fires of creation! Give birth to an engine of destruction! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Dragon of the Fires, Ragna!"_

A bright red Dragon appeared on two legs, wings stretched out to full-length filling up the hallway. Its long neck reached to a gator-like face with two small horns protruding from the back of his head. (2600/2200) "Each turn, I can remove from play one dragon in my grave to deal you half of its ATK as damage." Tyler noted as he removed Masked Dragon from his graveyard and placed it into his jacket pocket, for use as a makeshift RFG Zone. A wave of flame emitted from Ragna as the fires made its way through Ryan.

Tyler: 4000

Ryan: 3300

"Ragna, direct attack! **Big Bang!**" Another torrent of flame erupted from the dragon, aiming at Ryan.

"Trap activate! Dodge Roll!" The trap rose up to the wall of flame as Ryan deftly ducked to the side and rolled away from the blaze. "With this trap, I can negate one instance of battle or effect damage. Can't touch me that easily." Sweat rolled down his neck from nervousness. That attack was almost too real; he could nearly feel the heat from across the hallway.

"I think I'll end with that." Tyler finished as the flames died down. While he may not have dealt as much damage as he would have liked, he still had everything under control.

"Draw!" Ryan took a look at his hand before deciding on his next move. "I'll activate Cards for Black Feathers! With this, I remove from play 1 Blackwing in my hand in order to draw 2 cards." He slipped Boreas the Sharp into his pocket, then drew 2 more cards. "However, during this turn I can't Special Summon." He had to use all of his restraint to not break his poker face at his two draws. "I'll set one monster and one backline. Your move."

"Gladly." Tyler took up as he drew his next card. He grinned. He had this in the bag. "Using Ragna's effect, I remove from play Darkblaze Dragon in my graveyard to deal you half of his attack as damage!" The phantom of Darkblaze transformed into a wave of fire that washed over Ryan, who had crossed his arms to defend himself.

T: 4000

R: 2700

"Next comes my spell, N – Nesting Grounds! I can either search for any Dragon in my deck or Special Summon a Dragon in my hand or graveyard. Arise, Totem Dragon!" With a wave of his arm, Tyler conjured up the Aztecan-themed Dragon. "Totem Dragon here can be used as two Releases for the Advance Summon of a Dragon-type monster!"

"Too bad that won't be happening! Go, Icarus Attack!" Ryan waved his arm to the side, his facedown slipping face-up. "By Releasing one Winged-Beast on my field, I can destroy two of your cards!" Ryan's facedown flipped up and revealed Vayu the Emblem of Honor. He flapped his wings and hovered over Tyler's field, as lightning crashed down upon all three monsters on the field.

"Hiding a trick like that with a weak defense, hoping I'd go all in. Not bad I guess…." Tyler murmured.

Looking over his own cards, he really didn't have any other plays to make. "I'll end my turn here."

"Draw!" The Obelisk glanced over his cards before making a move. "I summon Blackwing – Kalut the Moonshadow!" Another small bird caricature appeared with a yellow-head. "With Black Whirlwind, I can add Blackwing – Breeze the Zephyr to my hand! Breeze's effect activates! When he's added from my deck to my hand by a card effect, I can Special Summon him!" A second bird appeared, covered in bright yellow feathers. "I'll tune them together now!" Ryan declared as his Blackwings took flight.

_"Blackened gales, soar to victory on wings of hope! Synchro Summon! Blackwing – Armed Wing!"_

When the light died down, a new Blackwing had appeared, in green and black armor, wielding a fierce spear gun. (2300/1000) "Armed Wing, direct attack!" Ryan wanted this attack to really hurt the Slifer. Unconsciously, he pumped his Duel Energy into the attack.

Tyler could only brace himself for the blow. The spear fired from the gun pierced him in his right shoulder, energy actually drilling into his body. He let out a cry.

Tyler: 1700

Ryan: 2700

He rubbed his shoulder to dissipate the pain. "Damn…letting out your Duel Energy like that…must be getting desperate. I didn't expect something like that." He grinned. "If you wanna dance like that though, I can tango!"

Ryan glanced at his monster. Somehow, he had inflicted actual feeling upon his opponent. Things like that happened occasionally, but he attributed it to a combination of adrenaline, heat-of-the-moment, and over-dramatics. Duel Energy was it? Maybe he could pressure his opponent some more.

"Yeah, that's right! I can use Duel Energy to make you feel pain!" He wasn't exactly sure how that worked, or even why it worked, but if he could play mind games with his opponent, then he was all game with this Energy stuff. "You better forfeit now Slifer, before I really hurt you!"

Tyler laughed. "Okay, so you want a serious duel? I was holding back a bit, but I guess I let my guard down. Won't happen again though. Now, do you end your turn, or what?"

Ryan nodded as Tyler took his draw, a bad feeling settling in his stomach. If this kid actually knew what he was talking about, maybe he shouldn't have egged him on.

"During my Standby Phase, I can Special Summon Totem Dragon from my Graveyard, as long as I control no monsters, and every monster in my graveyard is a Dragon-type." Once more, the Aztecan dragon appeared. "Now, I release my Totem Dragon to Advance Summon…" Tyler slammed his card down, "The mighty Felgrand Dragon!" A shining, golden dragon appeared, his scales illuminating the hallway. (2800/2800)

"Attack his Armed Wing! **Fangs of Light!**" The mighty Dragon Lord ripped through the bird, a fierce gust bursting from the carnage, tossing Ryan and his cohorts back. The silent blonde had been sitting on the ground, cowering in fear since the Proof of Powerlessness roar, the feeling of Duel Energy surrounding him had awakened his fear from the previous duel he had with Violet.

Tyler: 1700

Ryan: 2200

"With this facedown, I'll end my turn!" Tyler declared, his opponent seriously regretting riling him up.

Ryan stood up shakily. "Draw!" He yelled. For some reason, his blood was pumping harder now. He was half-scared, half-excited. This feeling of facing a powerful opponent! "I activate the spell card, Card of Demise! Now, I can draw cards until my hand is at 5!"

Tyler swore to himself. That card was not only powerful, but so rare it wasn't even affected by the banlist. The only other players he knew with that card were Nick and Rush from his hometown, and even then Nick had mentioned going through Hell to get it. Who knows where the hell Rush got his. It was similar in fashion to the Envoy cards. Due to their powerful abilities, the dragon was banned from major tournaments, but the fact that nobody in even the pro circuit had a copy of the soldier, he was untouched. _'Nice topdeck. Faggot.'_

"Next up comes my spell Against the Wind! I add one Blackwing from my graveyard to my hand, in exchange for taking damage equal to his attack points." As Bora the Spear slid out of Ryan's graveyard, a blade of wind sliced him from shoulder to hip. He grunted a bit, but smirked.

Tyler: 1700

Ryan: 500

"The point of the game is to lower your _opponent's_ life points. Pretty sure you're doing it wrong." Tyler mocked. _'Why __is he using a card like that? Is it part of some super-secret strategy? I just may not be able to comprehend Obelisks. I mean, I _am_ only a Slifer.'_

"Mock me while you can, but you're in for a world of hurt! While you control monsters and I don't, I can Normal Summon Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn from my hand without Releases!" A muscular bird-man appeared, with orange and black armor. "Black Whirlwind now allows me to add another Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind to my hand! Followed by another Bora!" With both monsters summoned out, Ryan pointed straight up into the air. "With Gale the Whirlwind's effect, I can slice your Dragon's attack and defense points in half!"

Fierce winds sliced through the thick scales on Tyler's dragon, which let out howls of pain. (2800/2800 - 1400/1400) "Next, with Sirocco's special ability, I can pump one Blackwing I control with the attack of my other Blackwings! I'll choose Sirocco himself!" The other two stood behind Sirocco as a black gale whipped around him, bolstering his might. (2000 - 5000)

"5000 attack points…" Tyler muttered to himself.

"Now I'll tune my Gale and Bora together!" Ryan declared as the small bird flapped his wings and transformed into green rings. Bora hovered through them as he morphed into four orbs of light.

_"Blackened gales, form an unrelenting assault combined with a fierce defense! Synchro Summon! Come out, Blackwing – Armor Master!"_

"Even though I have a new monster out, I can only attack with Sirocco this turn." Ryan explained. "I doubt I'll need more than Sirocco. Now attack Felgrand! **Black Dawn!**"

"Reveal facedown card! Negate Attack!" Tyler yelled as the spinning, black vortex approached his monster. A crimson shield appeared around Tyler's field, protecting him from the gales. "This will negate your attack and end the Battle Phase on the spot!"

Ryan calmed himself down a bit. He had let himself get a little too excited there, and his hastiness almost cost him. If that trap card were capable of dealing out more than stopping his attacks, he could have been in real trouble. "I'll set these cards facedown and end my turn." Two cards appeared on his field, directly behind his monsters.

"Draw!" Tyler declared. "I'll activate my spell card Advance Draw. This has me Release one level 8 monster I control in exchange for letting me draw 2 new cards." Tyler glanced at them momentarily. "I'll activate Monster Reborn, allowing me to revive any monster in my graveyard! Arise, Felgrand Dragon!" Once more, the golden dragon filled the hallway, though this time its luminescence carried something with it. Tinged with red?

"When Felgrand Dragon is revived from the graveyard, I choose one monster in my graveyard and Felgrand gains attack equal to that monsters level x200! I choose my level 8 Dragon of the Flames, Ragna!" Burning fire combined with a golden light to create something of a miniature sun. (2800 - 4400) "Not as fancy as your 5000 attack points, but it gets the job done," Tyler grinned. "Now attack Sirocco! **Fangs of Light!**"

"No way! Reverse card, open! Black Wing!" A storm of black feathers rained down to obscure the view of the field. "With this, if your monster has 2000 or more attack points, I can negate your attack!"

"Not too shabby. I end my turn here."

"I'll take my turn now." Ryan gulped a bit. A heavy hitter now wasn't going to be easy to get over if he had something to stop his Armor Master. "I'll activate the trap card Black Boost! While I control 2 Blackwing monsters, I can draw 2 cards!" His draws were Jetstream the Blue Sky and Etesian of Two Swords. Dammit, he still didn't have anything to get rid of that facedown. It had been sitting there all duel. What was it? If he hadn't used it by now….maybe it was useless? He had protected it with Gust Wing earlier, but maybe that was just to protect his Proof of Powerlessness?

"Using Sirocco's effect, I raise Armor Master's attack to 4500! Now, attack Felgrand Dragon! **Black Hurricane**!"

"Trap card, open! Dragon's Durability! By halving the attack points of my Felgrand Dragon, battle damage is reduced to 0, and my dragon remains on the field!" (4400 - 2200) The vortex slammed into the mighty dragon lord, pushing Tyler back with its force. Felgrand Dragon held his ground however, and let loose a roar to disperse the storm, something like a middle finger to the Blackwings.

Ryan's eyes widened. This was way too awesome. "I activate a monster effect! Blackwing – Etesian of Two Swords! When a Blackwing monster I control battles another monster and my opponent's monster isn't destroyed, I can discard Etesian to deal you 1000 damage!" A Blackwing burst from Ryan's hand and used iaido, the art of swiftly drawing the sword from its scabbard, to slice Tyler across the stomach before vanishing into the Graveyard. The pain lingered for a moment, sending a wave of nausea through Tyler.

Tyler: 700

Ryan: 500

"When Armor Master battles an opponent's monster, a Wedge Counter is added onto it. I can remove a Wedge Counter from a monster to reduce its attack and defense points to 0 for a turn. Face it, it's over already." Taking a closer look, Tyler noticed a black shard of glass wedged in between the chest scales of his monster.

"You finished yet?" The Slifer challenged. Even after being taken down to less than a thousand, he still wouldn't back down.

"I am for now, so go and draw your last card, so I can end this duel."

"A duel isn't over until the last card is played, draw!" And with that, a fire awakened inside of Tyler, a light guiding the path to victory through his cards. "I summon Exploder Dragon from my hand! (1000/0)" A grey dragon appeared, holding an orange egg. "When I Normal Summon a monster, I can Special Summon Clone Dragon from my hand, copying his attack and defense. (?/? - 1000/0)" A white light emerged from Exploder Dragon. When it faded, a white version of the dragon was sitting next to it.

Ryan stared across at the Slifer. His monsters would be able to wipe out the rest of his life- wait.

"Clone Dragon can't attack without paying 1000 life points. Close, but not enough to beat me." He grinned.

"I wasn't finished yet. While I control 2 or more Dragon-type monsters, I can Special Summon the Drago Synchron in my graveyard. Then, once per turn, he can copy the level of one Dragon I control. I choose for him to copy Exploder Dragon's level!" (1 - 3) The small dragon seemed to age slightly, and grow in girth.

"I'll tune my level 4 Clone Dragon with my level 3 Drago Synchron!" Tyler declared as the two dragons hovered above and transformed into a set of green rings and white orbs.

_[i]__"__You who stand upon the weak, step forward now to claim your throne! Synchro Summon! Flap your wings, Exploder Dragonwing!"[/i]_

"With this, I attack Armor Master with Exploder Dragon! Go, **Kamikaze Rush!**"

Ryan could only look on as his ace monster was reduced to ashes. "Exploder Dragon reduces battle damage to 0 while attacking, then when he's defeated in battle the monster that destroyed him is returned the favor. Time to finish this. Exploder Dragonwing, attack Sirocco! **King Storm!**"

As the torrent of fire approached Ryan, a look of fear flashed through him. He could literally feel the heat from the flames. This wasn't Solid Vision…

"When Exploder Dragonwing attacks a monster with equal or lower attack than him, that monster is immediately destroyed and its attack is dealt to you as damage!" Tyler shouted over the blaze.

_'Dammit! Gotta brace myself!'_ Ryan crossed his arms as the fire washed over his body. He let out a cry of pain as he felt the fire sear his skin. No damage was left behind, but the pain wasn't an illusion.

T: 700

R: 0

Tyler's duel disk receded into its idle position as his monsters vanished. He grinned maliciously at the other two bullies. "Well? You gonna do this the easy way, or the painful way?"

"Whoa, we don't want any trouble man!" They were quite literally shaking in their boots. They dragged their battered leader away from the psychotic Slifer. Tyler smirked, watching them run like cowards.

"Damn and I was hoping they would take the painful way…" Tyler smirked after the three retreating figures before turning to the Obelisk still slumped on the ground. "Hey, are you alright? They didn't hurt you or anything?"

But Tyler froze at the look in his eyes. Pure fear. "Y-You…You actually hurt that guy! I saw it! You burned him with your dragon! Your cards, they were alive! I could feel it!" He quickly stood up, nearly falling over in the process.

"Hey calm down, I just helped you out. I can't get a 'thank you'?" Tyler tried to help stabilize the boy, but he tore away from his grip.

"Don't touch me, you freak! You're just like her! She hit me with lightning! I felt it! I thought I was gonna die! Monster!" The Obelisk's eyes started darting around, looking for escape.

Tyler flinched at the words. _'Been a while since I was called Monster.'_

"Hey, you said a girl called lightning down on you? What happened? Can you fill a guy in on this kind of stuff? I mean I can't read minds."

But before Tyler could get anything more out of him, he bolted off.

"Hey wait!" But he was already rounding the corner. Tyler felt too drained from his duel to chase after him. "Blah, first Sipher, now some girl is calling lightning down on people? She couldn't have been playing around if she had damaged his pride like that." Tyler could feel it, that boy's spirit was shattered. That was probably why he freaked out like that. He knew about that look all too well…

"Dammit, kids these days are too much trouble…" a voice behind him muttered. Tyler turned to see Professor Jack standing there.

"Hey, I'm not the one freaking out over a duel."

"You could tell right? His Duelist's Soul was broken." Tyler nodded. "I also noticed you and that Obelisk duking it out. Just so you know pumping duel energy into your attacks all willy-nilly like that is one way to get people hurt in this day and age."

Tyler looked down embarrassed. "I'm…sure he's alright. I mean, I didn't deal all that much damage to him."

Jack shook his head. "There was a fifteen-hundred point overdraft. It usually takes less than that to break somebody down. I hope you realize that even if you're one of my students, and you were acting in another's best interest, if you permanently damaged that boy, I will see to it you are punished." The poisonous edge in the young teacher's voice sent chills running down Tyler's spine.

"Right…I'm sorry…"

"You realize I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, right?"

"Right…" Tyler shook his head. Dammit, he was getting like this again. "I'm gonna go after him. Prof? I want you to know, that guy I beat? He was stronger than he looks. He had power in him. It was a good game." With that, he took off after the three students who had retreated.

"Sometimes even those with power can crumble all too easily." Jack muttered after the student.

MEANWHILE…

Allen was sitting next to Violet in an empty classroom, the girl's head in her hands. "Oh man, if the school board sees this I'm so out of here…"

"Maybe he was alright? He might have just been embarrassed by the whole deal and ran away, nothing permanent." Allen patted her on the shoulder. They both knew he was just making up lies to console her. It was bad that she knew he was only saying it to help, but it was even worse that Allen knew the definitive answer.

"I didn't…I mean I forgot that if I…" Violet continued attempting to form a sentence. "No, I just didn't care enough."

"You know what I think would make you feel better?" Violet shook her head. "I think if you saw me and the other Committee members playing Uno you would feel better. Hunter is ruthless when he gets that Skip card, let me tell you. Losers have a penalty game." He added in with a singsong voice.

Violet couldn't help but laugh. "Tyler's part of this too right? Well I guess…"

"There it is." Allen grinned. Crisis averted, mission accomplished. Now, if he could only find Tyler. Oh right, he knew his PDA ID.

Within moments, Allen got the reply. "Alright, looks like everything's all set. Let's head over to the clubroom."

"If Hunter were here he would argue that it's your Headquarters." Violet giggled. Allen felt relief wash over him now that she was laughing again.

"Yeah? Well, Hunter takes things a bit too seriously sometimes. You'll see what I mean, Uno is no exception. I mean, we may be a Committee, but we're still technically more of a club. The Hobby is just different from art and music."

Violet nodded as she stood up. Allen was really trying to help her, just like all those years ago. Things really hadn't changed too much since then. "Good to know." She whispered to herself before setting off to the Committee HQ.

LATER…

"We are gathered here today to play a game known since the dawn of man. A game that has shaped the lives, characters and destinies of its players for eons." Hunter droned on, as he pulled out the wooden box. "For centuries, man has attempted to create countless strategies to counter his opponent, but every opposition has a different, yet subtle playstyle." He pulled out the deck of cards within the box, revealing a black back with four colors in squares in the center.

"I am of course, talking about Uno." Hunter concluded, looking over the table of Zephyr, Nullita, Tyler, Allen and Violet. "I assume everyone knows the rules?" Each player nodded with a grin.

"Alright, let the games begin!" Hunter cheered as he dealt the starting hand.

Tyler glanced over at Violet sitting across from him and gave her a smile. She returned it; all feelings over today's duels having been forgotten. Now was the time to play another game, one with their friends. The sun was setting and the day would be done for these young duelists, but not everything was finished.

For in the Obelisk dorm sat one blonde young man, one whose spirit had been crushed that day. The power he had seen with his eyes wouldn't leave his mind. They were monsters…freaks of nature. Sure, in the heat of the moment he often imagined pain where a monster attacked him, but it was always an illusion.

That attack was no illusion. He had felt the magician's scythe tearing into his stomach, felt the lightning course through his body, alighting every nerve-ending. He felt the heat from the dragon's flames; he saw how much pain that one Obelisk was in.

They didn't belong here…shouldn't exist in this world…

Those thoughts passed through his mind constantly as he drifted off into sleep. The adrenaline that had been pumping through him had worn off hours ago and now he was feeling the after-effects. Sore muscles, headache, exhaustion. All he could now was sleep…

Kaito: So about those GX characters...

Dark: And now for the card of the chapter! Dragon's Durability, Black Whirlwind, Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn, Felgrand Dragon and Black Boost!

Kaito: *sigh* I can see this is going nowhere... Anyway, I'll pick Black Whirlwind. Your deck is thinned down, you'll be able to have a monster next turn or even use it for a Synchro Summon if it's the right Blackwing. No Blackwing deck is complete without it.

Dark: Well, I hope you enjoyed both chapters!

Next chap should be more plot-based, so I may be able to start getting this thing on track. Please, RnR. Later!


End file.
